My Treasure From the Ocean
by ShadowVixen
Summary: Yami falls into the ocean to be saved by a mysterious girl. Who is she, and what's her secret? Find out! Please RR. YamiOC. Previously named 'An Ocean'.
1. Rya

An Ocean's Secret

It was a lovely day, the kind of day where you just want to get all of your friends together and have a picnic on the beach. Yami, Yugi, Tea, Joey, Mai, Tristan, Serenity, and Duke all agreed to meet at the beach for their picnic. Yugi and Tea had been going out for a month or two, along with Joey and Mai, Tristan and Serenity, and Duke with his girlfriend Jenny. They all brought something to eat and were playing a game of volleyball. Yami decided not to play and ventured off on his own. He climbed up a trail to the ledge that looked over the ocean.

A few miles out into the water, Yami thought he saw something swimming. As he tried to get a better look, the edge broke beneath him and caused him to fall into the water. The waves were rough against the rocks where Yami had landed. Yugi and the others had seen Yami fall from a distance and ran to try and help him.

Yami tried to get to the surface, only to feel the water keep him down. Until he felt, two arms wrapped underneath his armpits, pulling him up towards the surface. As soon as they reached the surface, he coughed and breathed in as much air as he could. Yami turned, expecting to see Joey or Tristan, but instead found a beautiful girl holding him.

"Are you all right?" she asked him. Yami simply nodded in response. "Let's get you back to shore," the girl suggested and swam them both back to the beach. Yami walked to the sand once his legs were able. When he turned around, the girl that helped him was still in the water, but only her head was visible. The lower part of her black hair danced in the water, while her ocean-blue water eyes watched him in curiosity.

"Thank you," Yami said wiping his mouth.

"You're welcome. Are you sure you're all right? That was quite the fall you took over there," the girl smiled.

"Yes, I'll be all right. May I ask you your name?" Yami asked.

"I'm Rya. What's yours?" she said.

"I'm Yami," he replied. A whole group of voices could be heard coming their way, calling Yami's name. Yami looked back to where Rya was, to see her starting to retreat further into the water. "Wait, please don't go!" he called out, running back into the water. "Will I see you again?"

"Sure. Do you see those rocks over there?" Rya said pointing to a bunch of rocks in the middle of the water.

"Yes, what about them?" Yami asked.

"Do you think you could swim that far?" Yami simply nodded. "Okay then. Meet me at those rocks at two o'clock tomorrow afternoon, okay?" Rya asked.

"All right, I'll see you then," Yami replied. He turned to see Yugi and the others running up to him. Once he looked to back to the water, Rya was gone.

"Yami, are you okay?" Yugi yelled as he and the others ran up to him.

"Yes, I'm fine Yugi. Luckily someone was able to reach me in time," Yami stated.

"Who?" Joey asked.

"Rya," Yami replied.

"Rya? Who's Rya?" Tristan asked scratching his head.

"Well, she saved me but now she's gone," Yami explained. His expression seemed saddened as he looked out to the now empty water.

"Well, thank goodness you're still in one piece. So who's hungry?" Tea called out happily.

Everyone except Yami cried out "I am!" He was still busy looking out into the water. As soon as everyone else began walking back to their picnic, Yami turned and ran after them. Rya never left his mind, even as he slept he thought of her.

A/N: okay! This is my very first fic on this site. Please let me know if I should continue. Pretty please:)


	2. First Meeting

Chapter Two: First Meeting

The next day, Yami grabbed a towel and a snack and ran out the door to the beach. Yugi and the rest of the gang were either on dates, or just hanging out. Yami secretly envied everyone for finding their special 'someone'. He was happy for them, but still, he was lonely.

Once Yami reached the beach, he looked out to the rocks to see if there was any sign of Rya. "Oh well, might as well go over there and wait for her." So Yami stripped off his blue jacket, and boots and jumped in. "Ah! This water's freezing!" he yelped. Nonetheless, he swam as fast as he could to the rocks Rya had pointed out before. Once he got there, he caught his breath and let the sun warm him up. Yami closed his eyes, and drank the sun in. However, his eyes opened at the sound of a splash behind him.

"Hello again!" Rya giggled happily.

"Hello. I was wondering what happened to you," Yami smiled softly.

"I'm sorry I was late. I...had something to take care of," Rya replied. They stayed silent for a while, but neither of them minded it that much. Yami began to notice that Rya was still in the water, and just resting her arms on the rocks.

"Why don't you come up here with me? The water must be cold," Yami suggested. Rya shrunk back a little. "I'm not going to hurt you," he said gently.

"I know that," Rya replied.

"Here, give me your hand and I'll help you up, okay?" Yami held out his hand to her, but simply got a saddened look in response. "What is it?" he asked.

"It's just–well I-" Rya stuttered, without being able to actually finish her sentence.

"You can tell me," Yami told her. Rya looked up into Yami's eyes to see that he was telling the truth, and wasn't like others she had met.

"Well, you see–If I show you, please promise me you won't . . . be like others I've met," Rya asked. Yami nodded in understanding and continued to wait patiently for Rya to take his hand. Rya slowly, and hesitantly reached back for Yami's hand. His soft touch caused her to smile, and her heart to beat faster. A blush rose to her delicate cheeks, causing her to quickly turn away.

"So what was so terrible that you didn't want to show me?" Yami chuckled. However, he was the only to find anything humorous.

"This," was Rya's only reply as she lifted her body out of the water. Yami gasped to see a dark blue fin rise out of the water.

A/N: Yeah, you guys probably guessed about Rya by the first chapter, hehe. I forgot to mention that I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of their characters. Yes, I know it's hard to believe. Thank you to all those who have reviewed, you are my heroes. :)


	3. Remembering

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of it's characters. Hehe, it's quite a shame. :) Enjoy!

Chapter Three:Remembering

"You're–you're a mermaid?" Yami gasped. Rya just bowed her head, as if in shame.

"I'm sorry, I never should've shown you." Rya began to jump back into the water, until something gently caught her arm.

"Wait," Yami said. Rya turned to look back at him. Yami saw the tears in her eyes, and wiped one away. "Please don't go. I'm sorry if I offended you. It's just, I've never seen a mermaid before. Everyone actually thinks they're just a myth. Please stay," Yami begged. Rya smiled a little and wiped the rest of her tears away.

"You're not like the other humans I've seen." Rya pulled up a seat right next to Yami. "One time, a young boy and his father had come out to the ocean to go fishing. I was watching them from a safe distance, when I saw the boy fall out of the boat. The father was asleep, so he couldn't hear the boy calling for help. I swam as fast as I could to help him, and luckily I was able to get him back to the surface in time. The father had woken up by the time I got the boy back to the boat. He didn't even thank me, and instead threw a net over me. He yelled out something about being rich for trading me in. I was trapped in that thing for at least a day. They pulled me in so close to shorethat I couldn't swim away. The father built a fire on the beach, while the son sat and watched me. After his father fell asleep, the son walked over to me. He looked so sad, and I could tell he had been crying. So I asked him what was wrong, and he told me.

'I had a bad dream. Could I stay with you?' I just had to smile at his innocence.

'Of course,' I told him. He sat down and we talked, until he realized how sad I looked.

'Why do you look so sad?' he asked me. I told him how I wished I could go home, and swim again. 'I'll be right back.' he said.So he got up and ran over to a box his father owned. When he came back, I saw that it was a knife. He gave it to me and smiled. Before I could thank him, he ran back and slipped into his, 'cocoon' or–I'm not sure what humans call it. Anyway, I cut myself loose, and was about to swim away, when the father woke up and grabbed me. But the boy jumped up and begged his father to let me go. Something about the way the boy looked at him, made him let me go. There have been other times where humans have...done something. It just seemed like you were the only, decent human I've met. You remind me of that little boy; kind and gentle. I'm glad I met you Yami," Rya smiled. Yami was in shock after what he had just heard.

"Even after what humans have done to her, she still has a kind enough heart to trust them. She really is something," Yami thought to himself. They both talked for hours until the sun began to set.

"You should go, Yami. It's getting cold, and I don't want you to get sick," Rya smiled.

"I'm fine. I–I–achoo!" Yami blushed after his little sneeze. "Perhaps I should go. Will you be all right?"

"I'll be fine. So I'll see you tomorrow?" Rya asked hopefully.

"I wouldn't miss it," Yami replied with a smile. Rya giggled and watched as Yami swam back to shore. As soon as he reached the sand, he turned around and waved Rya goodbye.

A/N: Hope you liked. And just in case you got confused about the cocoon thing, it was actually the little boy's sleeping bag. What would you call it if you saw a sleeping bag for the first time? hehe, please r/r. THANKS :)


	4. The Big Storm

Chapter Four: The Big Storm

Yami and Rya had both been meeting at the rocks for a few weeks. They were instant friends that always enjoyed each other's company. Neither of them had met someone quite like the other before. Both of them would exchange stories about their world, and how they live. "That's a very beautiful pendant, Rya," Yami commented. Rya tried to hide her blush. She held the dark-blue stone, with a golden rim in her hands. The actual stone swirled with white dust, making it look like a storm seen from the sky.

"Thank you. My mother gave it to me just before she died. She told me that it had magical powers. My people believe a lot in magic, and only a select few have a lot of skill in it."

"That almost reminds me of Duel Monsters," Yami chuckled. "Everyone knows about it and tries to be the best at it."

"What are 'Duel Monsters'?" she asked curiously.

"Well, in my world it's a game where you use cards with monsters on them to fight each other. You see, you start off with 4,000 of what we call, 'life points'. Now the object of the game is to..." and Yami spent the rest of the afternoon explaining how to play Duel Monsters to Rya.

"Wow. I had no idea there were things like that anywhere. Your world must be wonderful," Rya sighed. Yami just laughed heartedly.

"I get by in it well enough. Well, I'd better get going. Be here tomorrow?" Yami asked.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world!" Rya laughed and jumped back into the water to swim home, as Yami did the same.

The next morning, Yami woke up to a loud crash outside. He looked out the window to see there was a huge storm outside. The rain was pouring down, the thunder was booming, and the lightening was thrashing. The first thing that came to Yami's mind was Rya. "Oh no! She might be at the rocks waiting for me! Even if she is a mermaid, she can't possibly be strong enough to swim in this kind of weather!" Yami thought and rushed to get dressed. Without even thinking of taking an umbrella, or a jacket, Yami ran as fast as he could to the beach. By the time he reached the shore, it almost seemed as if he had already been in the ocean. He was completely soaked, and freezing. "Rya! Can you hear me?" he yelled out to the water. "Rya!" he yelled again.

Little did he know, Rya had the same idea when she had woken up that morning. She could tell that the waters were rough that day. "Oh no! What if Yami–I have to make sure he's all right!" she thought and swam as fast as she could to the rocks where she and Yami would meet everyday. By the time she got there, Rya heard someone calling her name. It was drowned out by the thunder and rain. "Yami! Yami can you hear me?" Rya called out worriedly. "Maybe he didn't come today. Maybe he-" her thoughts were interrupted by the splashes behind her.

When Yami never got a response, he did something he knew he shouldn't have. He jumped into the water and tried swimming to the rocks. By the time he had gotten to the rocks, he was exhausted. Yami used the last of his strength to stand up and yell for Rya. "Rya! Rya where are–" but he was stopped by a huge wave coming up from behind him. "Rya-" he called, only to be blown off of the rocks into the water. He took a quick breath of air before another wave pushed him down into the water. The waves had pushed Yami miles away from the beach. Yami tried desperately tried to reach the surface again. However, his breath couldn't be held any longer. His hand was the only part of his body to breach the surface, before he began to sink again. Yami felt something clasp to his wrist before he passed out.

Rya had turned to see Yami's hand starting to sink into the water, when she dove under the water and caught him. "I can't get him back to shore, or keep him above the surface. What can I do?" she thought desperately. Rya then looked down at her pendant and closed her eyes. "Please cast a protective shield around my friend until he is safe," she asked it. In a moment, Yami was covered in a blue aura. Rya could only think of one place to take him. She swam further and further down into the ocean, to an underwater cave.


	5. I Think You're Safe Now

Chapter Five: I Think You're Safe Now

Yami woke up, with his head pounding like crazy. He groaned and turned his head. "Where am I?" he asked no one in particular.

"You're in a cave," someone replied. Yami opened his eyes to see Rya in a small pool of water next to him.

"Rya?" he groaned. "What happened?"

Rya told him how she found him drowning and had brought him into an underwater cave. "Lucky for us this cave has an air pocket so you can breathe," Rya stated. But her frown was deep and sad.

"What is it, Rya?" Yami asked in concern. He was answered with a sniffle. Rya's head was bowed in shame.

"You almost died out there today," Rya replied. Yami's eyes widened slightly in shock. "If I hadn't have made you come here everyday, you would've stayed safe at home. You wouldn't be trapped here. I'm sorry, Yami," she cried.

Yami slowly stood up and walked over to her. "Rya, it wasn't your fault. If you hadn't been there, who knows what would've happened to me. I'm glad you were there," Yami smiled reassuringly.

"But Yami I-"

"No 'buts'! Don't even begin to doubt if it was a good idea that we had met. When we met was probably the greatest day of my life. Well, all except the almost drowning part," he chuckled. Rya still didn't seem amused, but smiled softly anyway. Yami lifted her chin, and wiped away a stray tear.

"I suppose you're right Yami. But I still don't know how I'm going to get you back to the surface. You're too deep to hold your breath long enough, and my pendant used up most of it's energy to get you down here. I just don't know what to do," Rya stated sadly.

Yami sat down and began to think. "That does propose a problem. My friends are probably wondering where I am. How long have I been down here?" Yami asked.

"Almost the entire day," Rya replied. "I wish there was a way to get in touch with your friends. I don't want them to worry about you."

"I know. Wait!" Yami reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone. "I guess I owe Tea a thank you for giving me a water-proof cell phone protector," Yami laughed and dialed his house.

"Hello?" Yugi answered.

"Yugi! Is that you?" Yami called out.

"Yami! Oh my gosh! Are you all right? Where are you? When are you coming home? How-"

"Hold on, Yugi!" Yami laughed. "First off, I'm fine. I'm with a friend. I got caught in a storm and she's helping me out," Yami winked at Rya, which just made her blush. "Hold on, Yugi." Yami covered the mouthpiece with his hand and looked over at Rya. "Rya?"

"You can tell him. If he's a good friend of yours, then I know he must be as kind and wonderful as you are," Rya smiled. Now it was Yami's turn to blush. So Yami explained everything to Yugi, from Rya being a mermaidto how he ended up in an underwater cave.

"Wow. So you have no way of getting back to the surface?" Yugi asked worriedly.

"Not yet, but I'll be fine. Do you think you could drop some things off at the beach and Rya could pick them up?" Yami asked.

"Sure. What do you need?" Yugi wrote down clothes, some food, and his Duel Monsters cards. The last item didn't really come as a shock to Yugi. "I'll bring them by tomorrow morning around eight, okay?"

"That's fine. Oh and Yugi? Thank you," Yami smiled.

"You should really be thanking Rya. She sounds like one of a kind," Yugi giggled mischievously.

"What–bye Yugi!" Yami said angrily.

"So?" Rya asked.

"Well, Yugi will drop some stuff off at the beach tomorrow morning, and I was hoping you could pick them up for me," Yami stated.

"Of course, Yami. Now, perhaps you should get some rest. You've had a very tiring day," Rya suggested.

"Thank you, Rya. For everything." Yami laid down and closed his eyes, while Rya watched him for a few moments, until she drifted off to sleep herself.


	6. Idea!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Yu-Gi-Oh! characters. Of course if I did...nevermind :)

Chapter Six: Idea!

Yugi got up extra early to gather as much as he could to take to the beach. "Okay let's see. Clothes, food, hair brush, tooth brush, tooth paste..." Yugi went down the list of what Yami would need. "Oh! I almost forgot!" Yami yelped and looked on Yami's dresser for his trusty Duel Monsters Deck. "I know Yami will want to have this. Plus, that other thing he wanted," Yugi smirked. He took the box Yami specifically asked for and ran out the door to the beach. As soon as he got there, he found Rya already waiting for him in the water. "Rya!" Yugi called out. The girl in the water turned her head at the call of her name.

"Yugi?" she called back. Yugi ran up to her with a bunch of plastic bags filled with Yami's things. "Is this everything?" Rya asked.

"Yep. Everything Yami asked for. Including his 'special' item," Yugi winked.

"What is it?" Rya asked him.

"You'll see. Hey, I just want to thank you for helping Yami. You're really a life saver," Yugi laughed. However, he noticed the sad look on Rya's face. "What's wrong, Rya?"

"I just wish that he wasn't in this predicament. If it wasn't for me, he'd be at home and wouldn't be worrying his friends," Rya sighed.

"Hey don't be so hard on yourself. We'll come up with a way to help Yami get back up here. Besides, I know he isn't sorry for being stuck down there as long as he has a friend like you," Yugi smiled. Rya just blushed and looked away. "By the way he went on and on about you yesterday, I can tell he really likes you," he winked.

"I better get these to Yami. Thank you Yugi!" Rya called out and swam as fast as she could out to the ocean. Yugi just laughed.

"Oh yeah, she definitely likes Yami. Yami probably likes her too. Speaking of Yami, I better think of a way to get him back up here." Yugi ran straight home and called all the guys together to think of a plan.

Meanwhile, Rya was swimming as fast as she could to Yami's cave. "Why did I start blushing when Yugi said that? Yami and I are just friends. Yeah we're, just friends." Rya swam up to the air pocket and found Yami just waking up. "Good morning," Rya chimed.

"Good morning. Oh, you saw Yugi already?" Yami asked, noticing the countless bags in Rya's arms. Rya simply nodded as Yami looked through everything. "Yes! He remembered my 'special' item!" Yami laughed and held an emerald metal container to his chest.

"What is it, Yami?" Rya asked curiously.

"The best thing known to all of mankind, Rya." Yami slowly began to open the lid to his 'special' container. "We call this _chocolate_," Yami smiled.

Back at the Game Shop, Yugi was explaining everything with the others. No one really seemed to believe it.

"Hold on! Ya mean ta tell me that Yami's in some sorta underwater cave with a mermaid?" Joey yelled. Mai simply smacked him upside the head.

"Let Yugi talk, you big idiot," she yelled.

"So we have no idea where Yami actually is, or any idea how to get him back up to the surface," Tea stated.

"Looks that way," Yugi replied. Everyone thought for a moment, until Joey jumped up off the couch with an idea.

"Kaiba!" Joey yelled. Everyone looked at him as if he were crazy. "We get him to lend us a submarine or somethin' and go down and get Yami!"

"Hey, that's not a bad idea. Only one problem. Why would Kaiba let us use one of his subs to get Yami? Wouldn't we have to tell him about Rya?" Tristan asked. Joey bowed his head and continued to think.

"Maybe _Kaiba_ wont give us a sub, but maybe Mokuba will!" Joey smirked. Of course it disappeared when Mai gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"That's probably the first time I've ever heard you come up with a good idea," Mai smiled.

"Okay then let's do it. We better get over to Kaiba mansion quick and talk to Mokuba," Yugi said. Everyone ran out the door and into their cars to drive to Kaiba mansion. "I hope this works," Yugi thought worriedly.

A/N: Hehe. Chocolate is everybody's best friend, lol. Who knew Yami was hooked on the stuff? Anyways, please review:)


	7. Chocolate Equals Hyper Mermaid

Chapter Seven: Chocolate Equals Hyper Mermaid

Yami ate a piece of chocolate as Rya watched in curiosity. "Yami? What is that you're eating?" she asked.

"This is called, chocolate. Where I come from, it's very popular. Here, try some." Yami broke off a piece and gave it to Rya.

Rya simply held it in her hand and looked at it. She poked it, she weighed it, and she even smelled it. As soon as she put it in her mouth, she squealed in delight. "This is wonderful Yami! May I have some more?" she begged.

"Of course, here." Yami broke off another piece and gave it to her. About ten minutes later, Yami began to realize the reason why mermaids had never had chocolate before.

"Oh my goodness! This is so sweet and good and sweet! Yum! It melts in my mouth and then tastes even more delicious! Then I want some more and then I eat it again and then I eat some more and–may I please have some more? Because it's very good, and, and, and, it's very good!" Rya had been rambling on and on since her fifth piece of chocolate. She would swim in and out of the cave to get all of that hyper energy out of her system. Yami simply sat there and chuckled nervously as Rya became more hyper by the second.

"Uh, Rya? Perhaps I should put it away now," Yami suggested and slowly began to put it away.

"Nooooooo!" Rya cried and tried to jump for it. Pretty soon she started jumping as high as a dolphin in a water show. "Must–have–more–chocolate!" she panted with every jump. Until she jumped so high, that she landed right on top of Yami as she pushed him down. Yami felt Rya land on his chest, surprised at how light she was.

"Rya? Do you think you could–huh?" Yami stopped when he realized that she had fallen asleep right on the spot. Yami had a big sweat drop on his head, when he tried to figure out how he'd get her off of him without waking her up. "Well, I could use a nap anyway," he figured and covered Rya with his jacket and drifted off to sleep. Yami didn't even realize that he had placed his arm lightly around her waist. Sure, she had gotten him wet, but he didn't mind. He just made sure that he wouldn't give her chocolate anymore.

Yami woke up later to feel Rya squirming weakly. "Wa–water," she moaned. Yami felt her skin to see it was unusually dry and scratchy. Her face was paler, and her eyes weren't as shiny anymore.

"Rya? Are you all right?" Yami called out shaking her shoulders. He slipped out from under her and noticed her fin wasn't glimmering as much. "Oh no!" he thought. "She needs water to survive. She's been out of it too long! Hold on, Rya!" Yami begged and gently lifted her into his arms.

"Y-Yami" Rya groaned and coughed. Yami took a deep breath and jumped into the water with Rya in his arms. He could see the opening where Rya would swim in and swam out. There he found a very unusual sight. Lights, like car lights, were shining on him.

"What the" he thought as they came closer and closer.

A/N: I know it was pretty short, but mermaids can be hyper for only so long, hehe. Anyways, I hope you've been enjoying this so far. And thank you so much for the reviews! Luv ya lots:)

PS-Yay for chocolate!


	8. Welcome Back

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN any of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! characters, alas. Enjoy!

Chapter 8: Welcome Back

"What the" he thought as they came closer and closer. Rya was still out of it as Yami tried to swim away back into the cave, only to see everything go dark, and hear the clanking of metal. "Let us out!" Yami demanded angrily, thinking only of Rya's safety.

"Yami?" a weak voice asked. Yami looked down to see Rya's eyes opening. "What's happening?"

"I'm not sure. But I don't know if I like it," Yami replied, holding Rya closer to him as she clutched to his chest.

"Yami? Yami can you hear me?"

"That sounds like...Yugi!" Yami thought. "Yugi? Yugi where are you?" Yami called out.

"I'm talking to you through a speaker in the tank you're in," Yugi explained.

"Tank?" Yami wondered.

"We got some help from Kaiba and Mokuba. They let us borrow a sub to come down and get you," Yugi told him happily.

Then Kaiba cut in. "First off, I only agreed to this nonsense to be shown an actual mermaid. Now if you made me bring this sub all the way down here for nothing, I swear I'll"

"Oh come on bro, did you really want Yami to be stuck down there forever?" Mokuba asked his brother. Kaiba just growled and ordered for the tank to be brought into the sub itself.

"Wait Yugi! Rya is in here with me!" Yami called out.

"We've got a water collection tank inside. Don't worry Yami, your friend will be safe," Mokuba stated.

"Thank you, everyone," Yami smiled and looked down at Rya. "Don't worry Rya. My friends won't hurt you."

Rya smiled weakly up at Yami and continued to clutch to his chest. They felt the tank rising up and tossing them all over the place, until they felt it emptying beneath them. They both fell into more water as Yami swam up for air. There he found every one of his friends cheering for him.

"Hey everyone," he chuckled. Yami looked behind him to see Rya staying more toward the back of the tank, away from everyone. "Rya?"

She looked up at him shaking and frightened. "One of your friends doesn't sound so friendly," she told him.

Yami simply laughed. "You must mean, Kaiba. Don't worry about him. He just talks tough," Yami explained. They were interrupted by laughter.

"Oh come on!" Kaiba exclaimed, walking up to the tank. "You expect me to believe that girl is actually a mermaid? That's probably just a costume. This scrawny little nobody couldn't possibly be the real thing. I told you mermaids was just utter nonsense," he laughed. Kaiba's laughing ceased when Rya jumped up high in the water and brought her fin down hard, causing a little wave to land right on Kaiba. He stood there soaked and shocked. "Why you little"

"Watch it, Kaiba," Yami warned and jumped down from the tank. Joey brought him a towel to dry off with.

"Nice shot 'dere Rya," Joey laughed with his thumb up. Rya just blushed and shrunk back into the tank. "Hey don' worry. We ain't gonna hurt ya," Joey explained. "Da name's Joey Wheeler by da way."

"I'm Tea," she said smiling. "And that's Tristan, Serenity, Mai, Duke and Jenny," she introduced everyone by pointing them out as they said hello.

"Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you," Rya smiled as she waved to them.

"How exactly did you get this sub anyway?" Yami asked.

Everyone sweat dropped while Kaiba just growled. "Well, it's kind of a long story," Yugi started:

* * *

Everyone drove in their cars to the Kaiba mansion, hoping to get a submarine from Mokuba to go down and get Yami. They knocked on the door, to be greeted by Mokuba himself. "Oh, hey guys! What's up?" he greeted them. They all looked at each other, wondering who was going to tell him. They all looked at Yugi, who just blushed. "Uh, everything okay?" Mokuba asked.

"Well you see Mokuba, we kinda have a problem and we need your help," Yugi chuckled nervously as he scratched his head.

"Well what is it?" Yugi told Mokuba everything about Yami being trapped underwater with Rya. "Are you serious? My brother would kill me if he found out!" Mokuba exclaimed.

"Found out what?" a gruff voice stated behind him.

"Oh, hehe, hey bro!" Mokuba chuckled. Kaiba's scowl got deeper as he looked at all the nervous faces of his visitors.

"Spill it," Kaiba told them sternly.

"They were just wondering if they could borrow something that's all," Mokuba chuckled.

"What was it?" Kaiba kept glaring at them.

"A _cough _submarine _cough_" Mokuba stated, trying to hide it behind coughing.

"WHAT!" Kaiba yelled outraged. "Just what in the hell would you need one of _my_ submarines for!"

"Well you see Kaiba," and Yugi had to explain for the third time that day the predicament Yami was currently in.

"You've can't be serious," Kaiba stated. "You mean to tell me that if I lend you one of my subs, I'll see a mermaid?" he asked skeptically.

"Well, yeah!" Yugi replied.

"Mokuba, get submarine #1 ready to go," Kaiba stated and started walking off towards the loading docks beneath the mansion. "If you morons are coming then let's go. I haven't got all day. But remember, you owe me," he smirked and continued walking.

* * *

"And that's basically how we got the sub," Yugi chuckled.

"So what exactly did you have in mind as a payment for your 'favor'?" Yami asked with a brow raised.

"I want this mermaid to come back to the mansion for testing," Kaiba replied. Rya shrank back into the tank even further.

"What! Kaiba–" Yami yelled.

"Relax. No one but us will know, and none of the tests will hurt your little friend," Kaiba stated uncaring of Rya's frightened state. Yami's face showed nothing but fury. "Unless of course you'd rather be dumped back into the water with no way to get back to the surface," Kaiba smirked.

"Fine! I'd rather be down here rather than put Rya in any harm!" Yami screamed.

"No!" Rya cried out. "I'll do it. Besides, he said it wouldn't hurt. He maybe mean, but I don't think he'd lie. I don't want you to be trapped down there again Yami. Think of it this way, we'll still be able to see each other," Rya smiled, hiding her fear.

"Rya . . . " Yami whispered.

"It's settled then. We'll head back to the mansion now," Kaiba stated and drove the sub back underneath the mansion where everyone got off, except Rya and Yami. Rya was moved into a different and bigger tank, where she had more room to swim around and jump in and out of the water.

"Kaiba, at least let me stay here with her," Yami asked. Rya looked a bit shocked at Yami's concern for her.

"I don't care. Just don't get in the way of the testing," Kaiba scoffed and walked off.

Yami looked back at the tank with Rya swimming around happily, or so he thought. "Rya," he called out and placed his hand on the glass. Rya appeared a moment later and put her hand against his. "I'm so sorry about this," Yami yelled pounding the glass.

"Don't be sorry Yami. It isn't so bad. At least we get to see each other anytime we want. Don't be sad Yami. Go get some rest, you look so tired," Rya suggested.

"I'm all right," Yami yawned. Rya gave him a cute little glare. "Oh all right, you win," Yami chuckled. "I'll see you later," he smiled. Rya smiled back and watched as he watched her while walking away.

"See you later," Rya thought. Her smile disappeared as she began swimming around again, wondering what kind of 'tests' the one named Kaiba would to on her. And why Yami tried so hard to defend her, and why her heart pounded while Yami was holding her to him. "Oh no! I–I'm in love with him!" she thought to herself, and tried swimming some more to take her mind off the thought. Even though no matter what she tried, she couldn't.

A/N: Uh-oh! Someone's in LOOOOVE! Okay, I hope this chapter wasn't confusing. And I apologize to all Kaiba fans reading this. I had to make the sexy Seto Kaiba somewhat of a jerk in this chapter. It had to be done. IM SOOOORRY! lol. Anyways, thanks for the reveiws everyone! I'm glad you liked the hyper mermaid chapter lol. :)


	9. Chat With Kaiba

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Sorry. :)

Chapter Nine: Chat with Kaiba

Rya was asleep when she felt bright lights shining on her from above. She opened her eyes to see light shining through the water directly on her.

"Wake up!" a gruff voice demanded. Rya swam to the surface to find Kaiba and Mokuba on a platform above her tank.

"Good morning Kaiba. Good morning Mokuba," Rya smiled, once again trying to hide the fear of what Kaiba was going to do.

"Good morning, Rya!" Mokuba called out waving to her as he sat at the edge of the platform with his legs swinging. "I'm sorry we woke you up, but we were gonna start the tests now, okay?" Mokuba asked.

"Of course. Just tell me what to do!" Rya replied happily. "Nothing too drastic I hope," she thought to herself.

"First we're going to see how fast you can swim, and how long you can maintain that speed," Kaiba stated monotonously. He turned to head to the main testing room. "Come on Mokuba," Kaiba called out behind him.

"Coming bro!" Mokuba laughed and started to stand up when he lost his footing and started to fall. Luckily, his hand had caught the edge, but just barely. "Seto!" Mokuba cried.

Kaiba turned at the sound of his brother's cry and saw him dangling about thirty-feet above the tank. "Mokuba!" Kaiba yelled and ran for him. Rya swam back up to the surface to see what all the commotion was all about.

"Oh no! Mokuba!" she gasped and swam as close as she could to where Mokuba was hanging. "Hold on Mokuba! Kaiba's almost there!" Rya called out to him.

"I–can't!" Mokuba cried, as his fingers slipped from the edge and started falling.

"Mokuba!" both Kaiba and Rya cried.

"I'm coming!" Kaiba yelled running down the platform as fast as he could down to the top of the tank, taking off his coat in the process. As soon as he got there, he found Rya already diving after him. "Mokuba! Can you hear me? Mokuba!" Kaiba cried out. He waited for any signs of his little brother at the edge of the large tank. At the sound of a large splash and coughing, Kaiba turned to his left to see Mokuba in Rya's arms being swum back to the metal edges of the tank. "Mokuba!" Kaiba ran to where they were, as Rya handed Mokuba to him. "Are you all right?" Kaiba asked in a panic.

Mokuba coughed up a little water before he could answer clearly. "I'm fine. Thanks to Rya," Mokuba smiled. Mokuba got up and gave Rya a tight hug. "Thank you," he cried.

Rya hugged him back just as tightly as she stroked his wild hair. "I wasn't just about to let you drown. You should go get dried off before you catch cold," Rya suggested and watched as Kaiba draped his long trench-coat over Mokuba's shivering body and lifted him up into his arms.

Kaiba looked over his shoulder straight at Rya. "I'll be right back. We've got some talking to do." Rya just nodded and watched him walk off with a smiling Mokuba in his arms. About ten minutes later, Kaiba returned with a different trench-coat on. "Now, let's pick up where we left off then, shall we?" he asked hoarsely. Rya simply nodded and backed away a little as he walked right up to the edge of the tank and kneeled on one knee. "I don't do this very often, so you should consider this a privilege," Kaiba started. Rya lifted a brow in confusion, until she saw Kaiba offer his hand to her. "I'm indebted to you. You just saved my little brother's life. I don't know what I would've done if I had lost him. So...thanks," he mumbled.

Rya just smiled and shook her head. "That's not necessary, Kaiba. I can tell he has a bright spirit, and that he means a great deal to you. You mean a great deal to him as well. He wants so badly to be just like you; strong and independent. But that's not what life is about Kaiba. It's about trying to be happy, finding people who love you, and enjoying life to the fullest. I see you as someone who thirsts for power, but at the same time I see you as someone who can have a kind heart. Don't let Mokuba grow up thinking that his brother is cold and uncaring. Spend time with him and show him you care about him. Because you know, pretty soon he's going to grow up, and you'll regret all that you missed doing with him." Rya stated and swam back underwater. Kaiba sat there thinking of what she said.

"I've almost lost him several times. But I never thought-" Kaiba stood up and dialed a number on his cell.

"Yes Mr. Kaiba?" the secretary asked.

"Cancel all my meetings and appointments this week. I'm taking Mokuba and myself on vacation," he said and hung up. "Better go let Mokuba know we're heading off to Disney world," Kaiba smirked to himself and walked off. But not before he turned around to find Rya swimming and singing to herself. "Hey!" he called out.

"Yes Kaiba?" Rya replied popping her head out of the water.

"I'll have you released by the end of the week," he said and walked off.

"Thank you, Kaiba!" Rya cheered and swam around faster than ever before.

A/N: I don't know if this was even a good chapter or not. I couldn't make Kaiba seem like a jerk for long. I LOVE his relationship with Mokuba. It's so cute! Anyways, thank you so much for the reviews. You are all officially my heroes:)


	10. Welcome to My World

Chapter 10: Welcome to My World

That same morning, Yami hadn't woken up until noon. He missed all the excitement between Rya and the Kaiba brothers. As soon as he was dressed, he grabbed some toast and ran down to where Rya was being held. He could hear her screams. "Rya!" he called out, scared that maybe they were performing horrible tests on her. "Rya what-" Yami stopped and found her screaming for joy as she swam and jumped out of the water every five seconds. "Rya?" Yami walked up to the tank. "Rya what's going on?" Yami asked her.

"Kaiba says he's going to let me go by the end of the week! Isn't that wonderful?" Rya cheered and jumped some more.

"That's great Rya! But, what are you going to do for a whole week here?" Yami wondered.

"Uh, well I-I didn't think of that," Rya blushed. "Well, I could talk to you couldn't I? That's enough for me."

Now it was Yami's turn to blush. "I suppose that's true," he chuckled. Yami looked down into Rya's ocean-blue eyes as she gazed up at him.

"Is there something wrong Yami?" Rya asked worriedly. Yami couldn't respond before her soft hand rested on his forehead. "Are you feeling all right?" Yami simply took her hand in his and held it for a moment.

"I feel fine," he replied gently. Yami started to pull Rya closer to him and began to close his eyes. Rya responded as she lifted herself up closer to him. They pulled back at the sound of something ringing. "That's my cell phone," Yami grunted angrily. He picked it up and held it to his ear. "Hello? Oh, hey Yugi."

"Yugi's here? Where?" Rya asked excitedly and began to look around for him. "Yami I don't see him anywhere," Rya said confused.

Yami tried to hold in his laughter. "Go to the mall? I don't know Yugi. I don't want to leave Rya here all by herself. I'll call you back later, okay? Okay, bye." Yami hung up and looked over at Rya.

"What do you mean, bye? Are you leaving?" Rya asked.

Yami couldn't hold in his laughter that time. "No Rya. I was talking to Yugi that's all."

"But I didn't see him anywhere. Is he invisible?" Rya wondered.

"No no, Rya. You see I was talking to Yugi on this cell phone. You talk through here and listen through here. It lets you speak to people far away," Yami explained as he showed her the phone.

"Oh I see. That's interesting. What other things do you have in your world?" Rya asked interested in what she could learn about Yami's world.

"Well, I wish I could show you but, since..." Yami stated sadly.

"Oh I see." Rya replied frowning. "If I could find a way to walk around with you, would you show me your world Yami?" Rya asked.

"Of course, but I don't see how you could do that. Listen, you must be hungry. How about if I go get you something to eat?" Yami stood up to leave.

"Chocolate?" Rya cheered.

"No!" Yami cried in fear of her hyper phase again. "No I'll bring you something even better. I'll be right back," he said and walked upstairs to the kitchen searching for anything Rya could eat.

Meanwhile, Rya thought of what she and Yami had talked about. "I wish I could just see Yami's world for one day. I wonder what it'd be like, to be able to walk with Yami everywhere he went. Maybe even holding hands or-no! Don't think like that. But still, I wish there was a way to-" Then Rya looked down at her pendant. "I wonder if-maybe. It's worth a try" she thought to herself. She held it tightly in both her hands to her chest and closed her eyes. "I wish..."

Yami grabbed some waffles, pieces of toast, some fruit and piled it all on a plate. He walked slowly down the steps, thinking what it would be like if Rya was human, and what almost transpired between them before his phone rang. "I could show her everything like the movies, the mall, the arcade. She'd probably like that. Maybe we could even-" Yami stopped his thoughts from going any further. He walked down to the last step, and looked over to where he saw Rya last. Right there, he dropped the entire plate of food he brought for her. "Rya?" he gasped.

A/N: Okie dokie everybody! Kind of a weird chapter, I know. But it will get better. Thanks everybody for the reviews so far. Especially those two person ones (you know who you are,lol) You all seriously rock. :)


	11. Welcome to My World II

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Yu-Gi-Oh! characters. Isn't that a shame? ;)

Chapter 11: Welcome To My World II

Yami walked down to the last step, and looked over to where he saw Rya last. Right there, he dropped the entire plate of food he brought for her. "Rya?" he gasped.

Rya stood there, outside of the tank, with two legs in place of a dark blue fin. "Are you all right Yami?"

"I-I-I-you're-you're fin is-" Yami stuttered in disbelief.

"Gone?" Rya smiled.

"Yes! It's just-gone! Rya what happened?" Yami asked as he walked up to her.

"Well, while you were gone, I thought about what you said. That if I was able to walk around with you, you'd show me your world. So then I realized that maybe my pendant could help, and I wished real hard. Then before I knew it, it had legs," Rya laughed.

"I...see," Yami stated. "So, you're human now?"

"Pretty much. I still have to get used to these le-legs!" Rya cried out as she started to fall over.

"Rya!" Yami ran up to her and pulled her to his chest before she could fall backwards into the tank. "Are you all right?" he asked worriedly.

Rya looked up into his amethyst eyes and nodded. "Yes I'm fine. Sorry about that, having two legs is harder than I thought it would be," she chuckled.

"Don't worry I'll help you." Yami stood back so that they were arms length apart. "Now just put one foot in front of the other," he instructed and gently pulled her towards him. Rya nodded and slowly began to take baby steps up to him. They practiced for about forty-five minutes before Rya could actually walk by herself. She still occasionally fell, only to have Yami catch her each time. Without Yami knowing, Rya would actually fall on purpose just to have him catch her. "Good, you've really got the hang of it!" Yami laughed.

"Does this mean you'll show me around now?" Rya begged.

"Well-" Yami thought.

"Please? I honestly don't know how long I'll stay like this," Rya told him.

"Well, how long did you wish to be human for?" Yami asked a little worried.

"Only until I-" Rya was cut off by Yami's cell phone ringing yet again. He rolled his eyes and answered it again. Rya stood there quietly waiting for Yami to finish, still trying to understand the concept of 'cell phones'.

"Well, that was Yugi. He and the others were going to go to the mall today. I told him that you wanted to walk around, so he'll pick us up here. So you and I will be able to-" Yami was cut off by Rya launching herself onto him to give him a hug.

"Oh Yami! That sounds wonderful! I can't wait!" Rya cheered. Yami simply smiled and hugged her back. He helped her walk up the stairs to the front door to wait for the others. Yami couldn't help but take secret glances of Rya as she stood behind him waiting in excitement for her journey awaiting her. Since she became human, she was now wearing a black tank top, a dark blue skirt, and boots that almost reached her knees. "Are you all right Yami? You keep staring," Rya asked.

"Oh sorry. I didn't mean to," Yami replied, blushing as he turned away. They heard some horns honking and noticed the cars pulling up to the front gate. "Well, here we go. Come on, Rya. There's a whole new world for you to see," Yami stated as he took her by the hand and ran them both to Mai's car.

"Rya? Is that you?" both Joey and Mai gasped. Yami and her explained what had happened. "Wow, awesome! Well, you turned into a human on a good day, Rya. Da mall is da best place to be. So let's go!" Joey cheered.

"You got it. Hang on!" Mai revved up the engine and sped off. As soon as they had started moving, Rya grabbed onto Yami, thinking she would fall out of the car or something. So Yami explained the concept of seatbelts to her, but never let her go.

Rya gazed out all of the windows to see things she never dreamed of seeing. Whenever she pointed out to something, Yami did his best to explain it. Only to be cut off by her pointing to something else, wanting to know what it is. When they finally reached the mall, Rya looked at the biggest thing she had ever seen. She followed the others into the large building, and started getting nervous. Yami could feel her shaking, and noticed that she had stopped. "Rya?" he called out. Rya just kept shaking and looking nervously at the building in front of her. She snapped out of it when she felt Yami take her hand. "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you." he smiled gently, and started to lead her inside.

A/N: As most of you guessed, Rya sprouted legs! AAAH! What fun or trouble will our friends get into? I'd like to personally thank actress19 for giving me an idea about how long Rya will be human for. I just might use it, so thank you so much! I'm glad you all are liking the story so far. I hope my story isn't being to predictable or anything. But trust me, next chapter won't be anything close to predictable. But if any of who have suggestions for what Rya should do, lemme know! Thank you:)


	12. The Adventure Begins

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the YGO characters.

Chapter 12: The Adventure Begins

Rya just kept shaking and looking nervously at the building in front of her. She snapped out of it when she felt Yami take her hand. "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you." he smiled gently, and started to lead her inside.

Rya gasped at what she saw before her when they stepped inside. The noises, the sights, the smells, all the different people. "Oh my," was all she could say. Yami took her hand and kept her close to him. It was extremely crowded that day, and he didn't want her to get lost.

"Stay close, all right?" he asked her. Rya simply nodded and linked his arm with hers to make her feel safe. Yami smiled and told the others that they would meet up for lunch later as they went their separate ways.

"Yami, what are all these different doors, and windows?" Rya asked.

"They're the different stores you can go into. A store is a place where you look for something you like or need, and then buy it," Yami explained as best he could.

"Buy? What does 'buy' mean?" Rya wondered.

"Well, you can't just take what you want. That is stealing. So you give the person who owns the store what we call 'money'. It looks like this," Yami pulled out his wallet and showed her the different bills and coins.

"Oh I see," Rya smiled. "Yami, can I 'buy' something?" she asked hopefully.

"Sure. What would you like?" Yami chuckled. Rya put a finger to her chin and looked around.

"How about that?" Rya pointed to a large candy machine a few stores down. Yami sweat dropped and suggested something a bit smaller.

"I have an idea. Come on," he said and took her by the hand to a stuffed animals store. "Pick out something," Yami told her.

Rya gasped as she looked around at all the little, cute, unmoving animals. She cheered when she found a white seal. "How about this?" Rya asked Yami.

"Perfect, Yami replied. He led her to the cash register, and told her what to do. Rya nodded and nervously walked up to the counter.

"I would like to, 'buy' this please," she said so cutely, that Yami couldn't help but chuckle.

"That will be 5.00 please," the cashier said pleasantly.

Rya looked down at the five dollar bill Yami had given her, and looked back over at Yami. He simply nodded and told her to give it to him. Rya did as he told her and handed it over. The cashier gave her a bag, and a receipt, then told her to have a good day. Yami took her hand and led her out of the store. "You did a great job, Rya," Yami congratulated.

"That was amazing! I didn't know buying could be so much fun! Can we do it again?" Rya cheered.

"Maybe later. There's another place I want to show you." Yami led her up the escalator to the top floor. It took a little while to convince Rya that it was safe to ride the escalator. Once they were up on the top floor, Yami led Rya to a place called 'The Arcade'.

Rya had to cover her ears since it was much louder than the actual mall itself. "So what kind of 'store' is this, Yami?" Rya yelled over the noise.

"It's called an arcade, Rya. It's where you play games," Yami told her. "Which one would you like to try?"

Rya looked around to see all the different lights flashing, all the different sounds booming from the large boxes with little people inside. But the one that really caught her attention, was none other then DDR. "How about that game, Yami?" she asked pointing over to the dancing game.

"Sure, let's go before someone else takes it." They ran over and stepped onto the platforms. Yami explained to her how to play the game, even though she didn't understand what he was talking about.

"Hey guys!" someone called out to them. Both Yami and Rya looked to see Yugi and Tea running up to them. "Cool, are you going to try this, Rya?" Tea asked her.

Rya simply nodded in response. "I still don't understand how it works though," she blushed. "Yami tried to explain it to me, but-"

"Say no more. Don't worry, I practically live for this game. Here's what you do..." Tea explained everything step by step, and even helped her to practice a little. "You got it?"

"I think so," Rya replied.

"Ok then, let's give it a try!" Tea pressed start on the machine and picked an easy song for them to dance to. "Ready, go!"

Rya and Tea danced easily to the song, until it got faster. Once Rya got the hang of it, she was really enjoying herself. She even threw in some twirls and spins. She wasn't paying much attention to the screen anymore, but was simply dancing. Yami couldn't help but smile as Rya danced. Yugi noticed how Yami was looking at Rya and knew what was going on. "He's in love with Rya," he thought to himself.

Once they were done, Tea and Rya cheered at being able to finish the game. "You did a great job for your first try, Rya," Tea smiled as they got off the platforms.

"Thank you Tea for teaching me. What other games do they have in this, 'arcade'?" Rya asked excitedly.

"Come on, I'll show you!" Tea took her by the hand and ran around showing her all of the different games to try.

Meanwhile, Yami and Yugi followed them a little more slowly. "So Yami, how's Rya doing?" Yugi asked.

"She really seems to be enjoying herself. This is a very big change for her, but she is adjusting," Yami replied.

"Any idea how long she'll stay like this?" Yugi wondered.

"No. I asked, but I never got the chance to...Yugi, why are you asking all these questions?" Yami asked him with a brow raised.

"Uh, no reason! I-I was just wondering!" Yugi said with his hands in the air in defense.

"Yugi," Yami growled sternly.

"Okay, okay! It's just, well, ever since you met Rya you seem to be much happier that's all. I saw how you were watching her when she and Tea were playing that game" Yugi claimed.

"Yugi-that's-it can't-you don't-" Yami couldn't even get a good excuse out of his mouth.

"Yami," Yugi growled in the same fashion Yami had only a moment ago. "Admit it, you're in love with her."

This time Yami didn't have anything to say. He simply looked over at Rya's smiling face as Tea was showing her a pinball game. "Maybe...I do love her," Yami thought to himself, and continued to watch Rya with a smile on his lips.

A/N: Well that's part one of Rya's new adventure of being human. Don't worry, there is much more to come! I've gotten suggestions, and they will most likely be used in the next chapter. Thank you all so much:)


	13. Sweet Treat

Chapter 13: Sweet Treat

"Come on you guys!" Tea called out to Yami and Yugi. "We're gonna get something to eat!"

Yami and Yugi walked over to the girls and started trying to decide what they should have for lunch. "How about some ice cream?" Yugi suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds great!" Tea laughed as she and Yugi held hands walking in front of Yami and Rya. Yami's smile became a little smaller at the sight of Yugi and Tea so happy in front of them. Rya noticed and wondered what was wrong.

"I wonder what would happen if I-" Rya reached down and took Yami's hand in hers. Yami looked down in surprise to find Rya's hand covering his. It felt rather nice. He looked back up at Rya who was simply smiling at him. Yami smiled back and squeezed her delicate hand a little tighter.

They finally reached the ice cream place, as Rya looked on in wonder. The cold temperature started to get to her. "Why is it so cold all of a sudden?" Rya asked them.

"Because...ice cream is...very...cold?" Yugi answered slowly, still deciding which flavor he wanted.

"But what exactly is it?" Rya continued. None of them really had an explanation for it.

"Here, pick a flavor and try some," Yami laughed. Rya looked through the glass to see the different colors and names of the ice cream.

"Is that one chocolate?" Rya asked excitedly.

"No!"Yami yelled throwing himself between her and the large 'CHOCOLATE' label. "It's uh-how about strawberry instead?" Yami suggested nervously. Rya simply nodded and waited for her pink, fluffy, cold substance on something they called a 'cone'. "Here you go," Yami said handing it over to her.

Rya looked at it for a few moments until she dared to take a tiny lick. She squealed in delight, until she took the biggest bite she could. None of them had time to warn her before her eyes went wide. She couldn't even open her mouth. Her squeals were now squeals of panic. Rya then started clutching to her head.

"Oh no!" Tea cried. "She's got brain freeze!" her panic started turning into laughter. Yugi couldn't help but start laughing as well. Rya finally swallowed the ice cream and took long breaths.

"I guess you were right when you said it was cold," Rya panted.

"Are you all right Rya?" Yami asked worriedly. Before she answered him, she simply started taking small licks of her ice cream.

"Hm? Did you say something, Yami?" Rya asked as if nothing had happened. Yami just sweatdropped and shook his head. Rya just shrugged her shoulders and continued eating. "Would you like some, Yami?" Rya held the ice cream in front of him. Yami smiled and took the hand holding the cone and brought it up to his lips, not taking his eyes off of Rya's smiling face.

"That was good, thank you," he said. Rya started blushing at his smile, and tried to hide it by eating the rest of her ice cream.

Just then a loud voice came up on the mall intercom: "Attention all shoppers, there is now a 50 off sale at (Reader's favorite store). Please hurry before our sale ends in one hour." The whole mall seemed to start shaking like an earthquake as maybe hundreds of people started running to that particular store. Yugi and Tea were able to get out of the way in time. However, Yami and Rya weren't so fortunate. Just as Yami had taken Rya by the hand to get out of the way, Rya was stuck in the rushing crowd. Yami felt Rya's hand leave his. As soon as he turned around, all that was left was the remainder of the strawberry ice cream cone Rya was eating.

"Rya!" Yami yelled, looking all around him for her. "Rya where are you? Rya!" Yami's voice echoed, but no one answered him.

A/N: Sorry about the long awaited update. This chapter was inspired by a suggestion made by Kuramas Girl Angel. I hope you liked it. Anyways, I don't own anyone but Rya. Why can't I share an ice cream with Yami? It's not fair, lol. :)


	14. Lost

Chapter 14: Lost

"Rya!" Yami yelled, looking all around him for her. "Rya where are you? Rya!" Yami's voice echoed, but no one answered him.

Yugi and Tea ran back up to him. "Where's Rya?" Yugi asked him.

"I don't know. She was holding my hand until-" Yami looked and sounded frightened. "I don't know where she is!" he yelled.

"Don't worry, Yami. We'll find her," Yugi tried to calm him down.

"Don't you understand? It's my fault she's lost out there! She doesn't know anything about this world. She could get hurt, and I promised her I wouldn't let that happen. I have to find her!" Yami ran off calling Rya's name, determined to find her.

"Yami's really worried about her," Tea stated.

"Yami really cares about Rya. But he does have a point though. Rya isn't used to anything in our world, so she could really get hurt. I'm going to call the others and tell them to help look for her," Yugi said as he pulled out his cell phone. Once he was done, he and Tea started to look around for Rya as well.

Meanwhile, Rya was looking around for Yami, or any of the others. "Where am I? What's going on? The last thing I remember is Yami taking my hand, and a lot of people pushing and shoving me away from him. Now I don't know where I am," she thought to herself. Tears started to come to her eyes like a young child who was separated from their mother. "Yami!" she tried calling out, but the crowd was too loud for her to hear any response. "How am I going to find him?" she wondered as she started walking around. After about 15 minutes of not being able to find them, she sat on a bench near a fountain. Tears flew down her cheeks as she hugged the white seal she had bought before tightly to her. "I'm never going to find him," she cried.

"You lost or something little girl?" someone asked her. Rya looked up to see three older guys surrounding her around the bench she was sitting on. They were all wearing sunglasses and bandanas on their heads.

"Yes, I am lost. Could you help me find my friends?" Rya asked hopefully, unaware of the lustful smirks on their smirks.

"Sure we'll help you. Come on, I know a shortcut to find your friends," one of them smirked. He took her by the wrist and hauled her up onto her feet. He was squeezing her wrist pretty tightly, and made it hurt.

"Do you think you could let go? You're hurting me," Rya asked.

"Oh trust me, this is the least of your problems," the man smirked and kept pulling away from the crowd. Rya began to realize what was happening and started to try and pull herself away.

"Please, let go. Ow! Let go!" she cried out, only to get slapped in the face.

"Shutup, unless you wanna make it harder on yourself," the man told her angrily and continued to pull her.

Yami meanwhile heard the cries of a young woman in distress. He ran towards the source just in time to see Rya being forced outside by three men, where no one would see them. "Rya!" he yelled and ran to catch up with them. As soon as he got outside, he found one of them pinning Rya to the wall by her wrists, and noticed her cheek was red. "Rya!" he called out again. They all turned towards Yami. "Let her go!" he demanded.

"And what if I don't?" the apparent leader asked smugly.

"Then I swear you'll regret it!" Yami growled dangerously. Without warning, he charged the thugs with tight fists. He was able to hit one of them, only to be ambushed by two more.

"Yami!" Rya cried in horror.

"Leave them alone!" new voices shouted. Joey and Tristan arrived just in time to knock out the thugs. "You guys okay?" Joey asked looking back at Rya and Yami.

"I'm fine," Yami replied and ran over to Rya. She was on the ground shaking and hugging her knees to her chest. "Rya, are you hurt? Rya talk to me," Yami told her gently. Rya looked up into his eyes, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

"Oh Yami!" she cried and clutched to his chest as tight as she could. "I was so scared! When they–I couldn't–"

"It's all right. I've got you now. I'll never let that happen to you again, I swear it," Yami growled in frustration, realizing he had made that promise before. "Come on, I'll take you home." Yami lifted Rya into his arms and asked Joey if he could get Mai to drive them back to Kaiba's mansion. In the car, Rya laid her head against Yami's chest, crying the whole way back to the mansion. Yami helped her out of the car and walked her up to the door. As soon as they walked in, Rya ran down to the tank she was held in before and dove in. The water calmed her for a few moments, until she simply sat on the edge, dipping her feet into the water. "Rya?" Yami called out softly. Rya didn't respond, and simply hung her head. Yami came up and sat next to her. "Rya, I'm so sorry that this happened. I should've known better then to take you to such a crowded place like that, where you could've gotten lost like you did. And when I saw those thugs, hurting you, I just–" Yami pounded his shaking fist into the floor next to him. He looked up when he felt a delicate hand on top his fist.

"It's all right, Yami. All in all, I'm glad I was able to go see what you showed me. I can't let one bad experience pull me down now can I? Besides, I knew your world wasn't perfect. Next time, we'll just be more careful," she smiled weakly. Yami didn't respond as he turned his head away. He felt her fingers under his chin as she turned him to face her again. "Please don't blame yourself, Yami. I couldn't bear it if you were angry like this because of me." Rya whispered to him and laid her head against his chest again. Yami nodded and laid an arm across her shoulders. Rya then jumped up with a bigger smile on her face. "Don't worry Yami! Tomorrow will even better then today, you'll see!" she squealed. Yami couldn't help but smile at her positive attitude. "Good. We better get to sleep," Rya suggested. Yami stood up and showed her the room she could stay in.

Yami went to bed himself in another room, and slowly drifted to sleep. He woke up at the sound of the door creaking. Yami sat up to see Rya slipping into the room. She was wearing large pajamas that were definitely too big for her. Yami wanted to laugh, but controlled himself. "What is it, Rya? Do you need something?" Yami asked.

"I'm sorry I woke you, I just...well it's silly. I'm sorry to have disturbed you. Goodnight," she said and started to leave. Until Yami asked why she really came. "I was kind of scared in my room. All the shadows made me nervous. So I hoped I could sneak in here without waking you and just...watch you sleep for a while. I didn't want to be alone in that other room," she explained pitifully.

"Rya, you can stay in here if you want to, don't be ashamed of being afraid of the dark," Yami told her kindly. Rya smiled and walked over to a chair. She was obviously uncomfortable but she smiled nonetheless at Yami, and attempted to fall asleep. Yami just shook his head as he pulled away the covers and walked over to her. Rya opened her eyes just in time to see Yami standing in front of her with a sweet smile on his face. "That doesn't look very comfortable," he told her. Yami then lifted Rya into his arms and carried her over to the bed. He slipped in next to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Is that better?" he asked her.

Rya just smiled and laid against his bare chest. "Much better," she replied as they both easily drifted to sleep.

A/N: OOOOOOHHHHH! Interesting. Where will it go from here? Who knows? I don't even know, so don't ask, lol. Anyways, thanks for the reviews so far, and I do not own any YGO characters. :)


	15. Pancakes and Surprises

Chapter 15: Pancakes and Surprises

Rya woke up the next morning to see Yami gone. She sat up and smelled something cooking downstairs. Rya followed the alluring smell into the kitchen, and found him making breakfast. "Good morning!" she cheered as she walked in.

"Good morning, Rya. I hope you slept well," Yami said kindly. Rya tried to hide her blush by nodding really fast. "Are you hungry?" he asked her.

"Oh yes." she replied holding her growling stomach.

"Well here, I made these for you" Yami said and handed her a plate that had three big round things covered in a brown, gooey substance.

"What are they?" Rya asked as she poked them curiously.

"They're pancakes," Yami laughed. Yami took his fork and cut up a piece for her and held it in front of her. "Try it." Rya bit the fork and ate the pancakes. She squealed in delight at the puffy sweet texture of these 'pancakes'.

"They're wonderful!" she smiled. Yami smiled back and watched as she consumed them in less than a minute. "That was great, Yami. May I have some more please?" Rya asked as she held an empty plate in front of her.

"Sure" Yami said and put more on her plate. Once she ate more then half of the ones he made, Rya finally said she was full.

"Delicious!" Rya laughed. "So what are we going to do today?"

"Well, Yugi called me earlier and told me that there was–nope, it's going to be a surprise. I'm not telling you," Yami smirked.

"Aww! That's not fair Yami! I want to know!" Rya whined like a child. Yami just smirked again and took the last bite of his pancakes.

"Nope" he said as he put their plates in the sink. He started walking out of the room when he felt something jump onto him.

"Tell me!" Rya pouted while launching herself onto his back. Yami wasn't expecting it so they both ended up on the floor. Rya was on top while Yami's face was literally in the floor. "Now will you tell me?"Yami's response only came out muffled. "What?" Rya asked.

Yami lifted his face with a mocking glare in his eyes. "Neverrrrrr!" he laughed. Yami rolled over so that he was now on top of Rya.

"No fair!" she pouted. Her pout was replaced by a fit of giggles once Yami found out she was ticklish. She screamed for him to stop, trying to free herself from his torturous hold on her. Rya finally escaped and started running upstairs to her room as Yami chased after her. At the very top of the steps, Rya started to lose her balance and fall backwards. Yami's eyes widened at her distress. He quickly ran forward to try and catch her. Although instead of catching her, he more or less tackled her over the top step to the floor.

"Are you all right?" Yami asked worriedly. Rya just nodded while rubbing her head. "You need to be more careful," he scolded.

"I know, I just still have to get used to these legs," Rya chuckled. Yami just shook his head and suggested that they go get dressed. Rya just nodded and slowly walked into her room. She looked through the drawers to find interesting things to wear. The only problem was, they were all boys' clothes. Of course, Rya didn't know the difference. "How do I look?" she asked from Yami's doorway. Yami had just finished putting on his black choker when he turned to see her. His eyes almost fell out of his head.

"Uh, Rya?" Yami said pointing to her outfit. She was wearing baggy jeans, huge sneakers, and a shirt that could barely stay on her. On top of all that, she was wearing one of Kaiba's long trench coats! "I think you'd better change," he told her, trying hard not to laugh.

"Why?" Rya asked. Yami took a minute to explain to her the differences between what boys and girls wear. "Oh I see. But there were no clothes like that in there." Rya explained to him. Yami thought for a minute, and knew just who to call. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Mai and Tea's numbers. He asked them to come over as soon as possible with outfits for Rya to wear. Before he could even hang up, the doorbell rang. Yami and Rya walked down the stairs and opened the door. There stood Tea and Mai with bags upon bags full of clothes. Once they saw Rya, they knew exactly why Yami called them.

"Yami, you did the right thing in calling us!" Mai exclaimed. "Come on Tea, we've got work to do!" Both Mai and Tea took one of Rya's arms and hauled her up the stairs. Yami just laughed at the look of Rya's face as she was carried away. While they were busy helping Rya, Yami called the guys to make sure they were still on for later. Once it was all confirmed, Yami heard someone clear their throat at the top of the stairs. Both Mai and Tea stood proudly before their latest 'masterpiece'. "Yami, we present to you, the new and improved, RYA!" Mai cheered as they stepped aside to show Yami her new look.

Yami was speechless at the sight of her. "R–Rya?" he stuttered. There she stood, in low-rise jeans, black combat boots, and a pink shirt that came off the shoulders. Her hair was put up in a high ponytail, and she had a light layer of makeup on her face. Rya walked down the stairs towards Yami.

"So what do you think Yami? Mai and Tea said that you would like the...the... 'makeup'." she told him with a smile, but still unsure of how Yami would take to her new look. Yami walked right up to her as she stood a few steps above him.

"You look–you look great Rya," he smiled warmly. Rya smiled back and hugged Yami with all her might, as Yami slowly but surely hugged her back.

"Awwwwww!" he heard coming from the top of the stairs. He noticed Tea and Mai with bulging, teary eyes. "It's sooo cute!" they both chimed.

"Come on," he said pulling back from Rya. "The guys will be here any minute to take us to the 'surprise' I told you about earlier," Yami smirked towards Rya.

"Oh I can't wait to get there! It's going to be so much fun!" Tea cheered. At that moment the guys pulled up in their cars.

"Come on guys! We ain't got all day ya know!" Joey yelled. They all walked out and got into the car with them. "Wow! You look hot Rya!" Joey whistled, only to be clobbered by Mai in the head. Yami glared at him slightly, until he noticed Rya simply gazing out the window, clutching to her pendant.

"Is something wrong?" he asked her quietly. Rya turned around quickly and put a smile on her face.

"Of course not! I just can't wait for the surprise you promised me!" she laughed. Yami was still unsure, but let it be for the moment. Rya looked out the window again, and continued to clutch to her pendant. "I just hope today I can make my decision," she thought sadly to herself. She didn't notice Yami watching her the entire ride. It had been at least an hour since they left the mansion, and Rya was beginning to get impatient. She let out a yelp when two hands covered her eyes.

"It's just me Rya," Yami chuckled. "We're here, but I don't want you to see it just yet." The car had finally stopped when Rya's door opened. "Now I'm trusting you to keep your eyes closed, all right?" Yami asked her. Rya simply nodded. Yami got out his side and walked over to hers.

"Yami how am I supposed to find my way with my eyes closed?" Rya chuckled. She suddenly felt hands she knew to be Yami's take her hands.

"I'll guide you," he said in a kind, warm voice. Rya gulped and nodded as he helped her out of the car. He wrapped one arm behind her around the small of her back, while the other held her hand to guide her. They walked for a few minutes, leaving Rya to wonder where they were going. As they appeared to be getting closer, she could smell and hear different things. She halted once Yami stopped her. "All right, you can open your eyes now," he said.

Rya rubbed her eyes to adjust to the light once she opened them. After her eyes were clear, she gasped at the sight before her.

A/N: Teehee, pancakes. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Any idea where they might be? Take a guess in a review. I do not own any YGO characters, I never will, and I find that quite depressing, lol. :)


	16. Did I Mention Surprises?

Chapter 16: Did I Mention Surprises?

Rya rubbed her eyes to adjust to the light once she opened them. After her eyes were clear, she gasped at the sight before her. "Yami! Where–"

"We're at an amusement park. It's in open for one day only, so I figured this is something you'd like to do," Yami told her, happy with her expression.

"Oh my! I can't believe this! This looks–amazing!" she cheered and hugged Yami tightly, causing him to blush in front of all the others.

"Okay R-Rya. So uh...what would you like to do first?" he asked her clearing his throat. Rya released him and look around.

"Well what do you do at a 'fair'?" she asked with confusion written all over her face. Yami loved that innocent look on her. He took her by the hand and led her around explaining all the different games, rides and foods. "It's all so exciting! I don't know what to try first! How about you choose Yami?" she said. Yami nodded in agreement and looked for something she might enjoy. A thought struck his head as a sly smile crossed his face.

"Come on!" he said as he took her by the hand and ran towards their first trip. Before Rya could even ask, Yami pointed and said, "This is called a 'Fun House'. Do you want to go in?" Rya simply nodded as they walked inside. Rya noticed the floors moving awkwardly as soon as they walked in. She had to grab onto Yami to keep from falling. As they kept walking, Rya noticed the house getting stranger and stranger. As soon as they got to strange mirrors, Rya looked at herself in them for what seemed like forever. Yami could hear her asking questions to herself.

Such as, "When did I become so short? So fat? So skinny?" She soon became frustrated. "I wish my body would make up its mind!" she said. Yami simply burst into laughter. Rya didn't understand what was so funny, but just continued through the house she never planned on visiting again. She wasn't paying attention as they were walking into the next room. That was a major mistake. As soon as she took no more than two steps into the room, she felt the ground beneath her feet slanted at a ridiculous angle. "Yami!" she cried out as she started falling hard to the left. Yami turned to see her falling towards him. Rya fell right into him, and sent both of them into the wall.

"Are you all right?" he chuckled. Rya just seemed to get more agitated with this house with every second. "She looks cute when she's angry," Yami thought before mentally kicking himself. He pushed some of her loose bangs behind her ear. "Come on, the exit's in the next room," Yami told her. Although, neither of them wanted to leave the position they were in now. Rya was leaning completely against him, and Yami with his arms around her. He took her by the hand and got her out as quickly as he could. Rya was just thankful to be on level ground again.

"For a house called 'Fun', it really isn't that much fun," Rya pouted crossing her arms over her chest. Only to feel Yami take her hand in his again. Rya looked up into the gorgeous smile on his face. All her bad thoughts subsided as she saw him. A smile crept back to her lips as Yami started to lead her to other activities. Rya's favorite after a while was when Yami convinced her to play a game with sharp things called 'darts'. The object of the game was to pop a 'balloon', and get a 'prize'. She had three tries, and the first two almost landed in the vender's head. "I can't do this, Yami" she said ready to give up. Instead of throwing the last dart, she started to put it down. Until Yami's hand on hers stopped her.

"Come on, I'll help you," he said and stepped behind her. His hand covered hers over the dart, as the other rested on her hip. "Just hold it straight, aim, and throw!" As they threw it, Yami's cheek brushed against Rya's for a split moment. Rya was too busy hiding her blush to realize that they'd popped a balloon. "You won, Rya! Pick your prize," Yami smiled. Rya took a minute and picked out a little pinwheel. Rya seemed to be easily amused by it's spinning effect, which made Yami smile even more. "Now what else would you like to do?" he asked her. Rya looked around and noticed a long metal snake rushing up and down, and even upside down with many people screaming on it.

"What is that?" she asked pointing to it. Yami looked on and noticed it too.

"That's called a roller coaster. Would you like to try it?" he said.

"It looks dangerous," Rya replied a little unsure.

"I promise you won't get hurt," Yami said smiling gently at her. Rya couldn't say no to that smile, Yami's smile. She smiled back and nodded as Yami took her arm and walked her over. Rya's heart pounded faster and faster as they got closer to the start of the line. She watched to amazing machine carrying these people, faster than anything she could ever imagine. It was finally their turn as they stepped down into the long metal snake. They strapped down as Yami covered Rya's hand with his. "Are you ready?" he asked her.

"Ready as I'll ever be," she replied with a smile and looked on straight ahead. Once it got moving, Rya braced herself for the speed they were sure to feel. Instead, it was simply going remarkably slow and up towards the sky. "Yami? How came it's going so–SLOOOOOOOOOW!" she screamed as they rushed down the track. Rya screamed the entire time out of delight and fear. She learned to love the rush running through her, and wanted it to last forever. They twisted, spiraled, went upside down, until it finally came to an end. Once they got off, Yami helped Rya balance on her now wobbly legs back down the ramp.

"Are you all right?" he laughed. Yami had one hand around her hips and the other holding one of her arms around his neck. Rya didn't respond. Her hair was disheveled, but she still looked beautiful.

"That...was..." Yami was scared to think that maybe she hated it. "INCREDIBLE!" she cheered and started running around like a crazy person. "With _whoosh_ and the _zoom_ and the _swish_! It was amazing!" she laughed. "Can we try it again? Please? Please? Please? Plea–" Rya was cut off by Yami's hand covering her mouth.

He just chuckled and smiled at her. "Maybe later. Come on, there's lots of other things to try. In fact, let's go–" Yami stopped speaking and was looking over Rya's shoulder. His smile had disappeared, and a look Rya had never seen before was placed on his face.

"What is it, Yami?" Rya asked worriedly.

"Lisa, my ex-girlfriend," he replied in a low growl.

A/N: Thank you guys for being patient with me. I especially want to thank actress19 for the awesome idea of an ex of Yami's coming into the picture, thank you! Plus, I just wanted to say you guys had awesome guesses for this chapter. But the one that cracked me up the most was Kyshin's idea of them going to Seaworld. I honestly never would've thought of that, lol. So thanks for reviewing so far, I love you all :)


	17. Meet Lisa

Chapter 17: Meet Lisa

Yami's smile had disappeared, and a look Rya had never seen before was placed on his face.

"What is it, Yami?" Rya asked worriedly.

"Lisa, my ex-girlfriend," he replied in a low growl. Rya noticed that he didn't even look at her when he replied.

"Ex-girlfriend?" Rya repeated curiously. Yami's glare simply became more deadly. Rya soon followed his gaze which seemed to be directed towards a girl about their age. Her hair was a sunny blonde, with dark-brown eyes. She wore jeans that practically came off her hips, and a shirt that barely concealed her chest. "She must cold dressed like that," Rya thought to herself. Before her thoughts could go any further, Yami took light hold of her arm.

"Let's get going," he told her and started steering her in the opposite direction. No more then after five steps, did they hear a voice call out to them.

"YAMI! Is that you?" They both turned to see that girl running up to them waving. "Oh my god! It's been so long!" she squealed as she latched onto Yami in a suffocating hug. Rya couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy as she clutched to him. Yami simply stood there, and very lightly returned her hug. When she finally pulled away, she failed to notice Yami's unhappy expression. "How have you been?" she asked him.

"Fine. Yourself?" he replied bluntly.

"Oh I'm getting by. It's so weird to see you here!" she squealed again.

"Yes, I suppose it is. How is Jason?" Yami growled, but not so Lisa could notice.

"Oh, I broke up with him about two months ago. He had the nerve to cheat on me!" Lisa pouted.

"Like somebody I know," Yami mumbled to himself.

"What was that?" Lisa asked, oblivious to his statement.

"I said that's too bad, I'm sorry. Well we're going to go get something to eat. I'll see you around," Yami said impatiently and turned to Rya.

"'We'? Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't even notice you standing there. My bad," Lisa said with her tone getting lower as she looked Rya up and down. "So aren't you going to introduce me, Yami?" Lisa asked him.

"Lisa, this is Rya, a friend of mine. Rya, this is Lisa," Yami stated pointing them out.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Rya smiled, being polite.

"Yeah, great," Lisa replied, not paying any attention. She looked back to Yami, latching to his arm. "Well since you guys are going to get something to eat, I might just join you! I'm a little hungry myself!"

Lisa didn't see Yami roll his eyes. He looked over to Rya who just seemed a little confused. "Would that be all right with you, Rya?" Yami asked her.

"Of course, I mean if she's hungry then–" Rya was cut off by Lisa's irritating voice.

"Great! Let's go then!" Lisa laughed and started dragging Yami away from Rya. Rya just shrugged her shoulders and started to follow them to a booth surrounded by little tables. They all got pizza and soda and sat down. Lisa went on and on about how she was trying to lose weight, but figured she should enjoy herself for tonight. "And I plan to," she thought slyly to herself as she looked at Yami from across the table. However she noticed Yami feeding Rya some of the pizza, explaining to her what it was. Rya seemed clueless. "Are you from another planet or something, 'Rita'?" Lisa laughed.

"Her name is Rya, Lisa. And she's just never had pizza before, it's new to her," Yami explained calmly, but irritated. Lisa just murmured a 'whatever' and drank some more of her soda. At one point, Yami accidentally spilled his soda onto Rya. "Oh! Rya I'm so sorry! Wait here while I go get some napkins," he said and jumped up to go get them.

Once he was gone, Lisa decided to slide closer to Rya to have a little 'conversation'. "So, how long have you and Yami been seeing each other?" Lisa asked, pretending to be interested.

Rya thought about it for a moment. "About a month I suppose. We used to meet at the beach everyday and talk and–"

"Yeah, yeah, great, wonderful. Um, are you his girlfriend?" she asked.

Rya had to think about that too. "Well I am a girl and I am his friend," she thought to herself. "Yes, I am," Rya smiled.

Lisa's smile turned into a smirk. "I see. Well we'll see how much longer that lasts. Because by the end of the night, he'll be mine," she hissed. Lisa noticed Yami running back with handfuls of napkins.

"I'm back. Here, Rya," he said and handed her some. Yami noticed some had gotten on her face. "Here let me get that." Yami gently wiped her jaw line with the napkin to get rid of the soda.

"Thanks Yami," Rya blushed. Yami simply smiled in return as he wiped one last drop from her cheek with his thumb. Lisa noticed and knew she had to stop it.

"So! How about a roller coaster, Yami?" she asked loudly. Yami's smile disappeared as he looked over at her.

"We just went on the roller coaster," he replied growling.

"I wouldn't mind going on the roller coaster again, Yami. It was really fun," Rya smiled.

"All right then, let's go," Yami stated and helped Rya out of the chair. As soon as she could, Lisa latched onto Yami once again and started running them both ahead of Rya to the roller coaster line. While Rya was trying to catch up, a group of teenage boys ran smack into her and caused her to fall hard to the ground.

"Ow" she called out and felt her ankle.

"Rya!" Yami yelled out and ran back to her. He had to practically yank Lisa off of him to get to her. He knelt down in front of her with a worried look on his face. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"I–I don't know. Some people just ran into me and I fell. I think something might be wrong with my ankle." Yami looked down at it to see that it was lightly sprained and bleeding.

"Here," Yami said and ripped off a part of his sleeve and wrapped it around her ankle.

"Thank you, Yami," Rya blushed. Yami simply smiled at her and helped her up. Rya leaned completely against him to keep off her bad ankle. Yami set her down on the bench right across from the roller coaster ride.

"Oh look Yami! We're right across from the ride, and the lines short! Let's go while we have the chance!" Lisa begged pulling on his arm.

"Lisa, I'm not leaving Rya by herself while she's hurt," Yami explained as calmly as she could.

"Oh I'm sure she'll be fine. Besides you know I hate going by myself!" Lisa whined.

"Lisa–"

"It's okay Yami. I'll just wait here while you two go on the ride. She really wants to go, and I wouldn't want to ruin it for her," Rya said kindly.

"Great! Then let's go!" Lisa cheered and dragged Yami away from Rya to the back of the line before he could protest.

"She sure is strange," Rya thought to herself and leaned back against the bench.

"Hey Rya!" Rya turned to see Yugi, Tea, Joey, Mai and the others coming up to her. All the girls had large stuffed animals that the boys won for them.

"Hello. Are you guys enjoying yourselves?" Rya smiled.

"Yep. Hey, what happened to your ankle? And where's Yami?" Yugi asked looking around, knowing Yami would never leave Rya alone.

"Oh. He's going on the roller coaster with his 'ex-girlfriend' Lisa. I got run into by some boys and hurt my ankle, that's all," Rya replied. Her smile went away when she noticed the shocked looks on all their faces. "Yugi? Tea? Guys, what's wrong? My ankle doesn't hurt that bad. I mean–"

"LISA!" they all screamed.

"Uh, yes. We met her earlier and she's been with us the last half hour. Why?" Rya asked them.

"Well Rya, it's a long story. You see..." Yugi told her.

A/N: Howdy everybody. Is Lisa irritating or what? If I were Rya I would've shot her by now. Or send her to the Shadow Realm, lol. Anways, the next chapter will be what happened between Yami and Lisa. That should be up soon, so enjoy:)


	18. Yami and Lisa?

Chapter 18: Yami and Lisa?

Yugi started to tell Rya the story of how Yami and Lisa know each other:

Yami was walking home from school when he heard a young woman crying for help. He ran down the sidewalk and came upon an alley. Three older guys were harassing a young girl. "Hey!" Yami yelled out to them. They all turned to face him. "Leave her alone!"

"And what will you do if we don't?" one of them smirked. Yami didn't even give an answer as he charged all three of them and knocked two of them out. The last one ran away telling Yami he was crazy. Once Yami was sure they were gone, he looked to the frightened girl behind him. She had curled up into a little ball up against the wall, shaking.

"Are you all right?" Yami asked kindly as he knelt in front of her. The girl looked up at him and nodded. "I'm Yami. What's your name?"

"L-Lisa," she stammered. Just then it started to rain hard on both of them.

"Come on, I'll walk you home," Yami offered. He stood up and held his hand out to her. Lisa hesitantly accepted, but finally gave him her hand and stood up. Before she knew it, Yami had put his long-sleeved shirt over her shoulders. "This should keep you warm." Lisa noticed his warm smile as they walked down the sidewalk in the rain. Once they reached her house, Lisa turned to him.

"I can't thank you enough for helping me today. You're very sweet, Yami. Do you think I could see you again?" she asked hopefully.

"Sure. Why not? How about a movie Friday?" Yami replied.

"That sounds great! I'll see you then. Meet me here at 7:00. Goodbye!" Lisa ran into the house and waved Yami goodbye from the window. Yami simply smiled and walked back home.

Yugi was reading in the living room when Yami finally came home. "Yami! You're soaked! What happened to you, you were supposed to be here an hour ago!" Yugi stated in a panic.

"I met a girl." It was all Yami said as he walked up the stairs to change. Yugi simply smiled to himself too.

"It's about time," he thought to himself and continued to read his book.

Friday finally came for Lisa and Yami. Yami walked up the stairs to Lisa's door and knocked. She opened the door and made Yami gasp. She was wearing a red tank top, jean capris, and white sneakers. "Ready?" Lisa asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Yami chuckled. He offered her his arm as they walked to the theatre. They watched a scary movie, that had Lisa clinging onto Yami every time the monster came out. Yami simply smiled and placed his hand on top of hers for comfort. Lisa squeezed it in reply and relaxed a little. Once it was over, they started making jokes about how stupid it was. Yami walked Lisa home as they both stood in front of her door.

"Thank you so much, Yami. I really had fun tonight. More fun than I've ever had in fact," Lisa laughed sheepishly.

"Same here. So would you like to do it again next week?" Yami asked her.

"I'd love to." Lisa jumped up and quickly gave Yami a kiss on the cheek and hurried inside before he could say anything. Yami simply shook his head and smiled the whole way home.

The next few weeks were pretty much the same, with Lisa and Yami getting closer and closer. It was maybe their tenth date when Yami decided to do what he dreamed of doing. They were on Lisa's front step when they were saying goodnight.

"This was great, as always," Lisa laughed. "Same time next week?" she asked.

"How about dinner instead?" Yami asked her, stepping closer. Lisa simply gazed into his eyes and nodded. Yami cupped her cheek in his hand, and brought her lips to his. Lisa instantly wrapped her arms around his neck, while Yami wrapped his around her waist. When they finally pulled away, Yami took her hand in his. "Same time next week?" he asked.

"Definitely," Lisa replied and kissed him again.

They started going out for about three months and did everything together. They went on picnics, to dances, to the park, carnivals, fairs, etc. They even did things with the rest of the group. Yugi and the others definitely liked Lisa. At least, when they first met her.

After about their third month of dating, Yugi and the others noticed some changes in Lisa. First it was her attitude towards them. In the beginning she was kind and always happy to see them. After a while she seemed to get irritated with them, and acted like they were beneath her. Then, it was how she dressed. She used to just stick with jeans and tank tops. Now she started wearing tube tops, short mini-skirts, and heels all the time. She pranced around and basically acted like a slut. Yami seemed to deny it to himself that she was changing, and not in a good way. Lisa would suggest going to clubs, bars, or anything of that sort.

One day, Yugi and Tea had gone to the mall and found a horrible sight. Lisa was with another guy, holding hands. And if that wasn't enough, they started making out right across from them, oblivious to their presence.

"I can't believe her! We have to tell Yami!" Tea stated. Yugi simply nodded in agreement, even if he knew it would tear Yami's heart in two.

"I'll tell him," Yugi said. Later that day, Yugi walked in just in time to see Yami walking out. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Yugi asked.

"I've got a date with Lisa up at the mall. I'm supposed to meet her there now," Yami replied. He started walking out the door when Yugi caught his hand.

"Yami! I..." Yugi didn't know where to start.

Yami turned back to face him. "What is it, Yugi? Are you all right? You don't look so good. Here sit down," Yami said and led him to the table. "Now what is it?" Yami asked sitting next to him.

"I just wanted to tell you..." Yugi then looked up into Yami's eyes. Yugi gave a heavy sigh. "Have a good time."

"Thanks Yugi. I'll see you later," Yami smiled and walked out the door.

"Why didn't I tell him?" Yugi scolded.

Yami finally got to the mall and found Lisa waiting for him by the entrance. She looked as though she were fixing her lipstick. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately. He snuck up behind her and captured her in a hug. "Hey there," he said and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey there yourself! You scared me!" she pouted. "Anyways, how about some lunch? I'm starving!"

"Sure," Yami replied as they headed into the food court.

About a week later, Yami was going to see Lisa at her house. He had a surprise for their five month anniversary. He opened the box to reveal a silver bracelet with a capital 'L' in the middle. "She'll love it," he thought to himself and started heading out the door.

"Where are you heading off to?" Yugi asked him from the kitchen.

"I'm going over to Lisa's. I'm going to surprise her for our five month anniversary. See you later," Yami called out and started turning the doorknob.

"Yami, don't." Yugi said with his head down.

"Don't what?" Yami asked. Yugi walked up to him.

"Don't go over there. End it with Lisa," he said. He noticed the widened eyes on Yami's face. "Before you even ask why, let me just say this. I wouldn't be telling this if all you weren't one of my closest friends. I care about you and that's why I'm saying this. A little while ago, Tea and I saw Lisa kissing another guy at the mall. She's cheating on you," Yugi stated.

Yami stayed eerily silent for a while. "That was what you were really going to tell me that day, wasn't it?" he asked in a very low tone.

"Yes. I didn't say anything because I didn't want you to get hurt. I'm sorry," Yugi said with his head down and tears flowing down his cheeks.

"I see." It was all Yami said when he quickly opened the door and walked to Lisa's house with a quick pace. He practically ran up the front steps to the door. Before he even had a chance to knock, he heard Lisa giggling on the other side.

"Oh Jason, you're so funny! Even funnier than Yami! Cheers to our two month anniversary!" Lisa cheered. Yami lowered his hand to his side. He instead turned it into a fist and pounded on the door. "Just a minute honey, I'll get it" Lisa said. Yami could hear her footsteps coming towards the door. Her smile went away when she saw Yami standing there. "Oh Yami! What a pleasant surprise!" she yelled so 'someone' else would hear her and hide. "Come on in, Yami!" Lisa said and stepped aside. Yami simply stepped in and walked into the living room. "Oh you don't want to go in there! Mom found a huge rat in there this morning and–"

"Oh really? Was the rat named Jason by any chance?" Yami asked glaring at her.

"I–I don't know what you're talking about Yami! What on Earth are you talking about?" Lisa asked walking up to him. Yami continued his search in the living room, when he found a shoelace popping out from behind the couch. He walked over to see Jason curled up into a little ball hiding. Yami didn't say a word as he turned and started heading back out. "Yami, it's not what you think!" Lisa shrieked as she jumped in front of him.

Yami simply glared down at her. "Don't bother. Have fun with your new puppet, because this one won't is cutting it's strings. I don't want you to call, talk to, or even look at me or any of my friends ever again. Goodbye." Yami gently pushed his way past her to the door. He opened it to see that it had started raining out. "Oh, and by the way..." he slowly turned with an even deadlier glare in his eyes. "Happy Anniversary." He slammed the door and started his long walk home.

Yugi was waiting for him to return, worried about his friend. "Did I do the right thing? What if he doesn't believe me? What if–" Yugi's thoughts were interrupted by the door opening. "Yami?" he called out and walked into the kitchen. The sight before him crushed him. Yami was soaked, sitting up against the door on the floor, crying. "Yami?" Yugi called out quietly as he slowly approached him.

"You were right. She..." Yami didn't say anything else and punched the floor with his fist. Yugi collapsed to his knees and hugged Yami to him. Yami let go and cried into his best friends' shoulder.

"It'll be okay Yami. You'll see. You'll find someone someday who's perfect for you. You deserve it," Yugi said soothingly. Yami didn't reply as he quietly continued to cry into Yugi's shoulder.

No one ever spoke of Lisa ever again, even though they would see her sometimes. Mai, Tea, and even Serenity wanted to find her and beat her into a bloody pulp for what she did. Even Joey, Tristan, Duke and Yugi wanted to, but they would never hit a girl. They could tell Yami would be thinking of her time and time again. The first few weeks were very tough on him. He barely ate, stayed locked in his room, and was always quiet. It was about another three months afterwards, when Yugi and the gang came up with something to cheer him up. A trip to the beach...

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed that. And I hope you hate Lisa even more, cus she hurt our Yami! She must pay! Maybe she will, hehe. I'm the author, I could do it! lol. Anyways, please reviews, and thank you so much for those who have already. It means a lot to me. :)


	19. It Gets Worse

Chapter 19:It Gets Worse

"And that's what happened," Yugi concluded sadly. They all had turned away in remembrance of Yami's broken heart. What threw them off was that there was no response from Rya. "Rya?" Yugi asked and looked to her.

What Yugi saw startled him. Her fists were clenched so tight they were shaking. Her eyes had became a darker blue, as is the ocean in her eyes was now a storm. Rya's head was now bowed down. "How...dare she..." she said eerily quiet and calm. Her head snapped back up at the sight of them coming back. When Rya noticed that Yami was not pushing her away, she got to thinking. "He never even told her to leave him alone, he's been a perfect gentleman to her. Perhaps he has forgiven her, or something like that. I'd best not provoke anything. I don't want to hurt him," she thought to herself, and unclenched her fists. "Yugi? Perhaps it would be best that you not tell Yami that you told me what happened. It might upset him," Rya told him. Yugi just nodded and waited for them to come over.

"Hey guys," Lisa said with a scowl on her face. Which wasn't any different from the faces of everyone else but Rya. "Yami and I were just talking about you guys in line. Who knew that Tea and Yugi would get together? I mean look at the height difference!" she laughed, even though no one else found it amusing.

"Lisa," someone called out. They all turned to see that it was Rya. "I would appreciate it if you did not talk about my friends that way. I think it would be best if–"

"If we all went on another ride? Oh I love that idea 'Rika'!" Lisa laughed.

"It's Rya, Lisa, and personally I _don't_ love that idea," Yami growled.

"Oh come on, Yami! You know I'm only joking around!" Lisa continued laughing.

'I can't take anymore' Rya thought to herself. 'There's only one way to settle this.' "Lisa? I challenge you to a duel!" Rya called out. Everyone's shocked faces turned to her.

"Excuse me?" Lisa asked narrowing her eyes at Rya.

"You heard me. You and me in a game of Duel Monsters. If I win, you never bother Yami again. If you win..." Rya stopped.

"If I win, I get to go on a date with Yami, alone. And, you will never speak to him again." Lisa smirked. Rya hesitantly nodded. "That settles it. Oh and by the way, if Yami's going to be a part of this, then let's make it a tag team duel. My partner will be..." they all waited for the name. "Yami!" Yami and the others gasped.

"No! I refuse!" Yami yelled angrily.

"Oh Yami, don't you know the rules? Once an opponent declares the match a tag team duel, and name their partner, any argument causes the duel to be forfeit. In this case, I'd win," Lisa smirked. Rya was the one most surprised by this, but nodded anyway.

"Very well. I will pick my partner. Our duel will be held in two days. We'll discuss the place tomorrow," Rya stated sadly. Yami looked at her sadly.

"Rya..." he said quietly. He wanted to walk up and hold her, only to be pulled away by Lisa. "Rya! You don't have to do this!" he yelled back to her.

"I know," she cried with her bowed. "But I will, because I love you." Yami couldn't hear her because of the distance between them.

They decided to head home, seeing as how Yami wasn't with Rya anymore, she couldn't bear to stay there any longer. They dropped her off at the mansion as she ran in and once again jumped into the tank. Even though she knew she couldn't breathe underwater anymore, she refused to surface, and bear the world that seemed against her. Once she realized her limits under the water, she tried to swim back to the surface. Only, she couldn't make it in time and was able only to have her hand shoot through. Before she blacked out, she felt a hand grab hers. "Yami?" she thought to herself, and all went black.

Rya woke up on the couch in Kaiba's living room. She sat up too quickly and felt her head pounding. "Hn. Never thought of you as someone for suicide. Especially by drowning yourself," someone said. Rya slowly turned to see someone sitting in a chair next to her that she didn't expect.

"Kaiba?" she asked.

"Came back early and I wanted to see if you ran away or not. Then I saw you practically drowning. Care to explain why you aren't a mermaid anymore?" Kaiba asked monotonously.

Rya went on to explain how she had gotten legs by the magic of the stone across her neck. Kaiba barely believed her, but couldn't think of his own explanation. "I probably won't be this way too much longer," Rya said sadly.

"And why is that?" Kaiba asked crossing his arms over his chest.

"Because...when I made the wish on the stone, I said for me to be human until...I no longer wish to be a human. I told the stone that once my final wish is made, I will destroy it, and the final wish will be permanent. Whether I'm a human, or a mermaid," Rya explained.

"What a joke. You expect me to believe that?" Kaiba chuckled.

"Believe what you wish Kaiba. It either means that I was never a mermaid and you were fooled, or that I'm actually telling the truth," Rya said a little angrily.

"Whatever. And just to humor me, why would it be that you'd wish to be a mermaid again? Don't you have something for Yami?' he asked raising a brow.

"I...it's hard to explain," Rya said bowing her head.

"Let me guess. You made a wager with someone about who gets your boyfriend. The problem is, not only is she using him as a partner, but you barely have a clue about how to beat her. Right?" Kaiba smirked.

"But how did–" Rya gasped.

"While you were knocked out I called Yugi and got the story. He also told me that he wants to teach you and be your partner. The Mutt said the same thing," he explained.

"It's kind of them to want to help," Rya smiled weakly.

"Whatever. They say they'll come by tomorrow, but don't expect too much from those amateurs. They can barely play themselves as opposed to teaching someone how to play," Kaiba stated. "Now go to sleep. They'll be here in the morning." Rya nodded and started making her way up with him on the stairs. He walked into his own room while Rya continued walking to hers. She halted when she heard his voice boom through the empty hallways. "WHO'S BEEN WEARING MY CLOTHES?" he yelled. Rya ran the rest of the way to her room and quickly closed the door.

A/N: Hey everybody! Wow, it's been a while huh? Well I hope this chapter makes up for it. I'd like to thank Tonks-HPfan for the awesome idea of having Rya challenge Lisa to a duel. THANK YOU! Now to tell you the truth, I had a whole different idea for this chapter, but this may actually work out better. Yami must seem pretty weak if he can be dragged off by only one girl, hehe, sorry. Anyways, I hope that this chapter doesn't confuse anyone. If it does, please feel free to email me. And if you just want to send an email go ahead, hehe. Thank you very much! I will hopefully be updating more often, I just have to see where the story goes from here. :)


	20. Practice Makes Perfect

Chapter 20: Practice Makes Perfect

The next day, Rya woke up to someone knocking on her door. She stood up, and opened it to reveal three faces. Two were smiling, while one held the usual scowl she'd grown used to. "Yugi? Joey? Kaiba? What's–"

"No time ta talk Rya! You need ta get your breakfast and energy 'cus we're gonna teach ya ta play Duel Monstas!" Joey cheered.

"Hn. Like _you_ could teach her anything Mutt," Kaiba smirked. Joey started going off on an unfazed Kaiba, while Yugi looked up at Rya.

"Rya? I know you're upset about yesterday and...well do you think we could discuss this privately?" Yugi asked. Rya simply nodded and let her into her room, away from the babbling between Kaiba and Joey. Yugi sat down on the chair while Rya sat at the end of the bed. "Rya, Yami's really upset. He doesn't want you to go through with this. He doesn't want you to get hurt. Yami asked me to ask you to not go through with this and just have me and Joey duel in your place."

Rya simply looked at him, now with more determination. "Yugi, I made the challenge, and I should be the one to go through with it, no matter what the risks or pain. I won't allow Lisa to hurt him again, at least not if I can help it. I know I'm inexperienced and don't know much, but I'm sure I could learn with you three teaching me." Yugi still looked unsure and bowed his head. Rya knelt in front of him and held his shoulders. "Yugi? I'm willing to do this, for Yami. I feel like I can do it with all of your support. Okay?" Yugi looked up and nodded with a small smile on his face. Rya smiled back as they opened the door to see Joey and Kaiba still going at it.

"Uh, guys?" Yugi called out. Both of them turned their scowling faces towards Yugi. "You think we could start now?" he asked nervously. Both Joey and Kaiba simply scoffed and headed off towards Kaiba's private dueling arena. They all helped Rya construct a deck that would help her.

"All right, here's how it'll work. It'll be me and the girl versus you two dweebs." Kaiba said meanly. But they all agreed nonetheless as Rya and Kaiba headed to one end of the field, while Joey and Yugi walked to the other. As the tower raised itself up, Rya held onto it for dear life. "Calm down, you won't fall," Kaiba told her. "You two geeks ready over there?" he yelled across the field.

"GEEKS! Why I outta–" Joey was cut off by Yugi putting his hand over his mouth.

"We're ready over here!" Yugi yelled with a huge sweat drop on his head.

"Good. We'll start with the rules of the duel..." Kaiba and Yugi, and occasionally Joey would tell her when the turn starts, ends, when to go, what cards you can use, when to use them, so on and so forth. Rya was a quick learner so she understood everything they told her. "All right then. We'll start a practice duel and tell you what to do as we go on, got it?"

Rya simply nodded as she placed her deck in the deck box, as the others did the same. The flipped a coin and decided that Yugi and Joey would start things off. It would go Yugi, Kaiba, Joey then Rya. Throughout the duel, Rya started to get the hang of things. Such as conducting a good strategy, using magic cards and trap cards, and working together with her partner to defeat the opposing team. In the end, Rya and Kaiba won when he used his Ultimate Dragon to wipe out the rest of Yugi and Joey's remaining life points. The entire day was spent dueling, with everybody switching partners. Rya was partnered with Joey in the second duel, and they had lost to Kaiba and Yugi. When Rya was partnered with Yugi, they won against Kaiba and Joey (which of course made Kaiba really upset). By the end of their third duel, it was already late at night.

"I say we all get something to eat and then get some sleep," Yugi suggested. Everyone agreed and headed to the kitchen. Once their stomachs were satisfied, Yugi and Joey took their leave.

"We'll practice some more tomorrow," Kaiba told her and went off to bed himself. Rya simply nodded and walked slowly back up to her own room. She wasn't really tired so she decided to go onto the connected balcony outside her room.

"It's such a beautiful night," she thought with a small smile. She looked straight out to see her home. "I've never seen it from above before," she gasped and watched it for what seemed like hours. She fell asleep, thinking about the next day and how the practice would go.

After Rya practiced being partners in a duel, she asked to try and duel by herself in a one-on-one duel. First, she was up against Yugi. She did pretty well against him, but she still lost. Kaiba was next, and lasted longer than everyone thought she would. She even surprised him with awesome strategies. But she still lost against him as well. However, when she dueled against Joey, she didn't hold back, and gave it everything she had. She actually beat him, which shocked everybody. Rya was exhausted by the end of the duel, and collapsed to her knees on the platform.

"Rya!" Joey and Yugi cried. They all ran over to her as Kaiba had the platform lowered. "Rya are you all right?" Yugi asked kneeling beside her.

She was panting heavily and sweat had collected on her brow. "I'm fine. I...have to...keep...practicing," she said and tried standing up again.

"Rya, you need to rest! You've exhausted yourself. Please, let's just take a break and we'll get back to it once you feel better," Yugi suggested.

"There's no time...for that! I have to...get better at this if I...want to beat her!" Rya exclaimed leaning her whole body against the platform to help her stand. Her eyes widened when the whole arena shut off. She looked over to see that Kaiba had flipped the switch.

"Listen, I won't let you use my equipment if you're not fit to. Just do as the midget says and take a break. Once you're better and able, I'll turn it back on and we'll continue," Kaiba glared and walked over to her. He flipped her onto his shoulder and carried her out. Rya didn't even have the strength to fight back and decided that they were right. They all ate some dinner and just relaxed for about an hour. Rya stood at the window and stared outside to see that it was raining hard. The only thought in her mind was Yami, and how she was fighting for him.

"Yugi?" she called out gently. Yugi and Joey were simply playing cards until they both looked up at her. "May we please continue now? I'm feeling much better," she smiled.

"Sure. Let's go," he smiled back as they all headed back to the now lit arena. They practiced another few hours, with Rya getting better with every duel. She still lost against Kaiba, got very close to beating Yugi, and beat Joey every time. "Wow, Rya! You've really come a long way! You're going to be awesome tomorrow!" Yugi cheered with a thumbs up.

"No doubt!" Joey included with a wink.

"She may be good against you morons, but she's far from being able to beat Yami," Kaiba stated coldly.

"Don't forget, it's a tag team duel, Kaiba. We have no idea how good Lisa is. For all we know she could be the worst and will hold Yami back," Yugi said.

"Lisa? That's her opponent? Isn't she that slut that Yami was stupid enough to fall for and ended with her cheating on him?" Kaiba asked. Yugi and the others simply glared up at him. "Hn, from what I understand you'll have no problem defeating her if _she's_ your opponent," Kaiba smirked. Rya didn't really pay any attention to what he was saying.

"I think it'd be better to assume that she's good, so I'll know to fight my best. I refuse to lose Yami!" Rya yelled as she pounded her fist. Guys noticed a sparkle on her cheek, where her stray tear was.

"Rya, we know how bad you want to help Yami, but don't get upset. I'm sure you're going to do fine," Yugi soothed.

"Thank you, Yugi. That means a lot," Rya stated and wiped her tear away.

"I hate ta bring dis up, but who's your partner gonna be?" Joey asked. Rya thought about it, and stepped off of the platform.

"I'll decide later this evening guys. I just need to know who's willing," Rya said. She was surprised to find that Kaiba was willing to help out.

"Only because you'd probably lose with either of these two," Kaiba explained. Rya just rolled her eyes and smiled. "Well, give me time to think about it. I think we've done enough for today. Goodnight," Rya said and walked up to her room.

A/N: Hey everybody! How's it going? Well, you guys are probably starting to wonder who Rya will pick for her partner. Now It's already been decided, but I'm interested in finding out who you'd like to be her partner, and why. Just for fun! And if you don't care who it's going to be, just gimme a guess, k? But now here is where voting actually takes place: **Kyshin** has made an awesome suggestion, that Rya should lose the duel. Now I think that it as an excellent plan, but I'm still not sure. So I would like anyone who feels they'd like to, vote for the outcome of the duel. Please note however, that no matter what the conclusion from the voting, it may not exactly determine how I will continue this. It's more for helping me in deciding which direction the story should lean into. I would very much appreciate your time and effort in helping me. You have no idea how much it would mean to me. Thank you especially **Kyshin **for your wonderful idea and reviews. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story. Thank you:)


	21. Late Night Visitor

Chapter 21: Late Night Visitor

"Well, give me time to think about it. I think we've done enough for today. Goodnight," Rya said and walked up to her room. She changed into some night clothes Kaiba had gotten for her so she'd stop taking his clothes accidentally. It was a simple tank-top and shorts set that had the same color as her eyes. Rya laid down in her bed, but was far from able to sleep. "Yami..." she whispered. It was almost midnight, and the rain hadn't stopped. Rya stood up and opened the doors to her balcony. She stepped out and felt the merciless rain pour on her. Rya embraced the rain with a warm welcome, and simply stood in it.

"Rya?" a voice called out to her. Rya looked around to see no one in her room, and no one else on the balcony. "Rya, down here!" they called out again. Rya walked to the edge of the balcony, looked over the railing and gasped.

"Yami! What are you doing here?" Rya called out. Yami looked left and right to see if anyone else was watching as he started climbing up to her balcony (SOOOO Romeo and Juliet, hehe) "Yami! You're going to hurt yourself!"

Yami kept climbing until he slipped over the railing and was standing on the balcony with her. "Rya..."

"Yami, you're soaked! You need to get inside before you catch a cold," Rya said pulling on his arm to come into her room. Yami didn't budge and simply took her hand in his. Rya felt him bring her to his chest. "Yami..."

"Rya, you look..." Rya wasn't sure if he meant skinny because she hadn't eaten much, or pale because she hadn't been sleeping as much as she should. Instead, Yami cupped her chin and brought it close to his face. "...beautiful." Rya gasped only to feel Yami brush the wet strands of her hair behind her ear.

"Yami, why are you here? Shouldn't you be–" Rya was cut off by Yami hugging her to him as tight as he could.

"Rya, please let Joey and Yugi duel in your place. I can't _stand_ the thought of dueling against you. I don't want to see you get hurt. Please Rya," Yami begged. Rya hugged him back, wanting him to hold her tighter.

"Yami," she said slowly pulling away to look him in the eyes. His eyelids were shut tight, so Rya placed both hands on his cheeks and lifted his head up. When he finally opened his eyes, she continued. "Yami, I made this challenge. It's only right that I fight it with all I have. I just wish you didn't have to be in the middle of it."

"Rya, why _did_ you make the challenge?" Yami asked curiously. Rya's eyes popped open at the question.

She sighed and decided to tell him the truth. "Yugi told me what happened between you and Lisa. I couldn't even begin to think how much she actually hurt you. When Yugi explained how she had...I couldn't stand the thought of her making you unhappy again. So I...did the only thing I felt I could do."

"But Rya, why would you do it?" Yami asked softly.

"Because I–I..." Rya couldn't say it. "I...care about you Yami."

"I care about you too, Rya. In fact, I..." Yami couldn't say what he wanted to either.

"Yami, if Lisa finds you gone you could get in trouble. You'd better go," Rya said sadly as she rubbed her arm. Before he actually left, Yami placed a kiss on her cheek. Rya held her cheek tenderly and wondered if that really happened. Yami climbed back down, and gazed one last time up at her.

'Good luck' he mouthed with a reassuring smile and ran out of sight. Rya quickly went back inside, dried off, and easily fell asleep with one last thought on her mind.

"I know who my partner's going to be," she said and fell asleep.

A/N: Yes I know, very short, but don't worry next chapter will be longer, and will be posted sometime soon (I hope). Please feel free to keep guessing who Rya's partner is going to be, and keep voting on the outcome of the duel. But I need your help with something else guys and gals: Should the duel be written play-by-play? Or just kind of summed up, briefed, etc.? Let me know what you think, and thanks for the awesome guesses and reviews. I shall reveal all shortly, just be as wonderfully patient as you've already been. Thank you:)


	22. So It Begins!

Chapter 22: So It Begins!

The next morning, Rya woke up early and ready to face Lisa. A knock came on her door. Kaiba was standing there with a box. "What is this?" Rya asked him.

"Just open it," he growled. Rya did and found clothes inside. "Sometimes you have to dress the part to intimidate your opponent."

Rya nodded as he walked away and looked at the clothes. Once she finally put them on, she actually thought she looked pretty good. She had a blood-red tank-top, a black vest on top, black low-rise jeans, black combat boots, black fingerless gloves, and a choker to put around her neck. She put her hair in a ponytail and walked downstairs.

"Wow Rya! You look great!" Joey cheered.

"Yeah, I like it! You definitely look like you're not someone to mess with," Yugi smiled.

"Thanks you guys. Well, I've decided who my partner is going to be." Rya told them. "Just so you all know, I wish I could have all three of you as my partner. You've all helped me more than I could ever thank you for. But I could only choose one, and I think it's the right choice."

"So who is it?" Joey asked.

Rya just looked up and smiled. "I'll tell you once we get there so I can see the look on Lisa's face when she finds out." Rya walked up to them with a look of determination and strength. "Let's go," she said and started walking outside. The others followed her to Kaiba's limo and drove to the arena they agreed to duel at. Rya just looked out the window as the world passed by. "This may be the last time I see it," she thought to herself. She looked around to see Joey and Yugi talking, Kaiba just sitting with his arms crossed and the usual scowl on his face. Rya pulled out her deck and looked through the cards. "There's no doubt in my mind that these will help me great deal to defeat Lisa." she thought. Rya put them back into the card protector on her belt, and continued looking out the window. It seemed like only seconds once they reached the arena from the mansion. They all got out and made their way inside. Rya tried desperately to keep her breathing calm and steady. The arena held no audience, which made Rya feel better. However, once she heard the voice she learned to hate, she had a scowl that could rival Kaiba's.

"Well, well, well. Look who decided to show up," Lisa said with a cocky look on her face. "Ready to lose, 'Riza'?"

"My name, is Rya. Please stop confusing yourself with that. And the day that I lose to you is the day that you actually dress in clothes that fit you," Rya growled. Everyone gasped at Rya's ferocity towards Lisa.

"Nice one Rya," Joey chuckled.

"Oh shutup Joey! It's not like that slut of a girlfriend of yours has any taste in clothes either!" Lisa yelled.

"You better watch yourself Lisa!" Joey yelled back at her.

"Yeah right, whatever. Anyways, my partner's here. So we can get started on the duel. By the way little-miss-loudmouth, who's _your_ partner going to be?" Lisa scoffed.

"You'll see soon enough, 'Lima'." Rya stated. Lisa simply growled in frustration and waited for Yami to make his entrance.

Yami walked in slowly and calmly, obviously not happy about the arrangement. He stood beside his 'partner' as she latched onto his arm with a smile on her face.

"Now then, let's get started shall we?" Lisa smirked and walked with Yami onto their platforms. "Come on, loser! We don't have all day!" she yelled down to Rya. Rya simply walked over to her platform and raised up in it. "So pick your partner already so we can get started!"

"Very well. I just have to say that I appreciate the three men down there that helped me through this whole ordeal. One of them I believe will help me even more in this particular duel on more then one level," Rya stated smiling down at Kaiba, Joey and Yugi.

"So pick already!" Lisa yelled with great impatience.

"My partner will be..." Rya pointed down at the one she chose as her partner, as everyone gasped.

Yami was smiling. "Great choice, Rya." he thought to himself.

A/N: Ahhh! Who is it? Oh wait, I know, lol. Thanks for reviewing everyone, and I appreciate all the great guesses you've made. Plus, I've looked at what you've voted for, and all will be revealed next chapter. I hope you'll all stay with me until then.

This note, I've been meaning to put in for a while. Why in the world did my title change! I tried looking up my story, and it came up as someone elses with the same title! Grrrr. I guess because no two stories should have the same story title. But why did it have to be _my_ title! tears oh well. I hope this didn't cause any confusion to my loyal readers out there! Anyways, enjoy:)


	23. Let's Duel!

Chapter 23: Let's Duel!

"My partner will be..." Rya pointed down at the one she chose as her partner, as everyone gasped.

Yami was smiling. "Great choice, Rya." he thought to himself.

"Seto Kaiba!" Rya stated proudly.

Kaiba smirked and walked over to the platform as it raised up. "Good choice," he stated and looked on over towards Lisa's shocked face.

"Now why in the world would she pick him? You probably would've been a better choice Yugi," Joey whispered. Yugi just sweatdropped and rubbed the back of his head.

"Because Joey," Rya started to say, hearing his comment. "Not only is he an excellent duelist, but I felt I worked best with him and his deck. He's told me he's wanted a chance to duel Yami anyways. Plus, I didn't want to make Yami duel against one of his closest friends. So in the end, Kaiba just seemed like the better choice," she explained.

"I agree," Kaiba smirked with his arms crossed.

"So do I," Yami smiled. Rya smiled back and placed her deck onto the board.

"Well, that's all well and good, but I'm ready to win," Lisa sighed and placed her own deck in place, along with Kaiba and Yami.

"LET'S DUEL!" they all cried and drew their cards.

Rya looked down at the cards she had drawn and nodded. "This is a good start" she thought to herself.

"Well, I guess the prettiest of us should go first, so I'll start things off!" Lisa stated and looked back down at her cards. "It'll go me, then Kaiba, then Yami, and save the worst for last," she scowled.

Rya simply glared, but agreed with the arrangement. "Good. Because by the time it's my turn I'll have a taste of her strategy and be able to come up with one to beat her," she thought to herself.

"Now that we're all in agreement, I place this monster face down in defense mode. Along with these two cards face down," she said putting two magic/trap cards on the field.

"Fine then," Kaiba stated. "I'll place two cards face down also, and one monster in defense mode. That ends my turn."

Yami looked to see the look of hatred Rya was giving Lisa, and saw that it didn't suit her at all. "I wish this never happened. I never wanted this to happen!" he thought with frustration. "I'll place one card face down in defense mode. That will end my turn," he said none too happily.

Rya then looked down at her own cards as she decided her move. "I'll place one card face down in attack mode, and one card face down. That ends my turn."

Lisa faked a yawn as she looked as bored as hell. "Well, it seems so far that your strategy is simply to bore me until I forfeit. Sorry, but you're going to have to do better than that," she said. She drew her one card and looked down at the rest of them in her hand. She smirked as she looked at the assortment of cards in her hand. "She's going down," she thought and continued with the duel.

It was half-way into the duel, with the following events taking place:

Kaiba- 2900 Life Points. He had one Blue Eyes White Dragon on the field (3000/2500), and two magic/trap cards face down.

Yami- 2800 Life Points. He had Celtic Guardian on the field in defense mode, with three magic/trap cards face down.

Lisa- 2000 Life Points. She had one magic/trap card face down. No monsters on the field.

Rya- 2200 Life Points. She had three magic/trap cards face down, and Dark Witch in attack mode (1800/1700), and it was her turn.

"Let's see," she thought, looking at her options. All she really wanted to do was eliminate Lisa from the entire match. "She doesn't have any monsters on the field, so I could attack her Life Points directly. But then there's that magic/trap card, something she's probably expecting. Hopefully it'll be something I can get rid of if she tries to use it." Rya decided to go for it. "Dark Witch, attack Lisa's Life Points directly!" she ordered.

"Ha! I knew you'd fall for that! Activate trap card: Waboku! Which basically means I receive no damage from this attack!" Lisa laughed annoyingly.

"Unless of course I play my magic card: Remove Trap! And I'll use it to remove Waboku!" Rya replied. Lisa's smile was practically smacked off her face as Dark Witch brought her Life Points all the way down to 200. Rya had a small smirk on her face as she said, "That ends my turn."

"Yeah! You go girl!" Joey cheered from the sidelines. Lisa simply glared at the girl across from her.

"She's going to pay," she growled to herself. It was now her turn as she drew a card. She smirked as she knew exactly who she wanted to use her new card on. "I summon one card face down, and I play Change of Heart! And I'll take control of..." Everyone waited for her to announce the monster she would use. "Kaiba's Blue Eyes White Dragon! Blue Eyes, attack Dark Witch!" she laughed maniacally. Rya braced herself for the attack. It literally shoved her backwards into the platform's rail, hurting her a little bit. Rya's Life Point were down to 1000. "That's what you get for messing with me!"

It was now Kaiba's turn, and we all know how sensitive he is about someone else using _his_ Blue Eyes White Dragon. "You're going to pay dearly for using a card that is far beyond your amateurish level you slut!" he yelled. With just a few cards, he was able to summon his Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon. "Now you're going to see what happens when you mess with ME! Attack!" Kaiba instructed his monster. "You lose," he smirked.

"I don't think so. Reveal Man-Eater bug! Which automatically destroys one monster, and I choose your pathetic dragon," Lisa stated. Kaiba was beyond outraged as a little bitch destroyed his best monster so easily. "Now it's Yami's turn. Go ahead sweety, show them what you're made of," Lisa giggled. Yami just rolled his eyes as he drew a card.

"I place this card face down in defense mode, and end my turn," he said and crossed his arms.

Rya knew he was just trying to avoid attacking her, and she really appreciated it. "Why did I have to drag him into this? He doesn't deserve this!" she thought in her mind. She slowly drew a card, suddenly realizing the impact of that last attack on her body. Nevertheless, she looked down at her cards. "I'll play Dark Magician in attack mode. And place three cards face down. That ends my turn."

"Oh good! My turn!" Lisa cheered and drew her card. "First I'll play Dian Keto, which gives me another 1000 Life Points, and brings that up to 1200. Then I'll place one card face down, and play Gaia the Fierce Knight in attack mode. That ends my turn."

A now very pissed Kaiba decided to pay Lisa back for destroying his best monster. He drew his card, and started laughing. "You're done for, Lisa," he smirked. "I play Monster Reborn, to bring back none other than my Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" he announced. "Then I play another magic card which allows me to attack this same turn. Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, attack!" The attack started going straight for Lisa's monster, when she simply smirked.

"I play my Book of Moon card! This allows me to flip one face-up monster into a face-down position. Sorry Kaiba," she smiled. Therefore, Lisa's monster and Life Points were safe, while Kaiba's dragon was put into face-down defense position. "Now it's Yami's turn, and he better do some damage or he'll regret it later on," Lisa stated glaring at him.

Yami simply returned the glare and looked at his hand. "I'll place Celtic Guardian on attack mode, and that ends my turn."

"Yami you idiot! How can you do this? They're winning and all you can do is just...aahh! Attack someone and win this duel!" Lisa screamed.

"You put me in this mess, Lisa, and I didn't want any part of it. So now you're just going to have to deal with it," Yami stated calmly. "It's Rya's turn." Lisa kept yelling and screaming until Rya started drawing a card.

"Why am I still in pain from that attack? It's should've worn off by now," Rya thought. She drew her card, and knew exactly what she was going to do. "First I'll play these magic cards: Book of Secret Arts, which gives my Dark Magician 300 extra attack/defense points (2800/2400). Then I'll play Sword of Dark Destruction, which increases my monster's attack points by 400, but decreases his defense by 200 (3200/2200). And finally, I'll play YAMI, which increases attack/defense by 200 (3400/2400). Now I'll attack your Gaia the Fierce Knight with my Dark Magician!" Rya announced. "This should bring her Life Points down to about 300, and Kaiba should be able to take it from there," Rya thought. "We're going to win, and I'll be able to be with Yami."

"Nice try," Lisa announced. Rya gasped, and wondered what she meant. "I play Mirror Force! Which not only protects my monster and my life points, but it also throws the attack back at you and destroys your monster!" she stated. Rya gasped and watched as her attack was thrown right back at her, throwing her once again into the railing, and bringing her Life Points...down to 0. "Looks like we win," Lisa said happily.

Everyone gasped at what had just occurred. Yami was more worried about Rya, and the look on her face. It wasn't only of surprise, but of pain as well. "Rya!" Yami called over to her.

Rya looked up wearily at Yami. "I lost. I'm sorry...Yami," she whispered, as she started falling off the platform.

A/N: That's right everybody, it was SETO KAIBA! Good job on all who guessed him, lol. Anyways, there's probably no one reading this right now because they've given up on me, and I don't blame them. Now on a note about the duel, god only knows how many rules I broke that would never occur in a real duel, but I had to make it short so I could continue on with this story. More should be coming soon so please don't hate me! Still, I hope you enjoyed it:)


	24. Promises

Chapter 24: Promises

Rya looked up wearily at Yami. "I lost. I'm sorry...Yami," she whispered. Her entire form started falling off the platform.

"Rya!" Yami screamed as he tried to get down off his platform. Rya's body was falling to the floor, fast.

"Don' worry Rya, we got ya!" Joey called out as he and Yugi ran to catch her. Luckily they got there in time without Rya getting hurt. "Come on, Rya! Wake up!" Joey begged.

Everyone but Lisa rushed to Rya's side to see what condition she was in. Kaiba stated that she needed to get back to the mansion and be treated. Rya's eyes opened just barely to see everyone surrounding her. She felt someone take her into their strong arms, and knew instantly who it was. She looked up to see Yami holding her tightly to him.

"I'm so sorry Rya," he whispered. "I never wanted you to get hurt."

"Yami," Rya whispered, wanting to be in his arms forever. Only to feel him be torn away from her.

"You remember our agreement. Now you two can never speak to each other again. Let's go Yami, we have a date to plan!" Lisa said and started dragging him off.

"No!" Yami yelled prying his arm out of her grasp. "I don't care about that stupid wager! I'm not going to leave Rya for a pathetic human being like you!"

Lisa didn't seem all that affected by his outburst. "Yami, you of all people are always saying you should keep your promises. You were always the gentleman, and that's what attracted me to you in the first place. So unless you want to be like all those other men out there who simply break their word, then be my guest."

Yami was now at a loss for words. He did make a promise, and he knew he had no choice but to go through with it. Lisa took him by the arm and started dragging him off with a triumphant smile on her face. Yami looked back at the girl he truly loved, and saw her getting further and further away from him.

"Yami..." Rya whispered as she tried reaching for him. Until all strength left her and she passed out entirely.

"Rya!" Yugi cried.

Kaiba bent down and lifted her into his arms. "Calm down, she'll be fine. We just need to get her back to the mansion," he said and carried her to the limo as the others followed.

Rya had a dream on the way back to the mansion. Darkness surrounded her completely, until a little ball of light started coming towards her. "Who's there?" she called out being nearly blinded by the light. Suddenly, someone took her hand in theirs. Rya whipped around and found that it was Yami. He was smiling softly at her, with his beautiful eyes gazing at her lovingly. Rya clutched herself to his chest and cried. He held her to him tightly, rubbing her back soothingly up and down. Rya had finally pulled away, only to feel Yami loosen his grip on her and pull away further and further. His smile was gone, now with a sad look in his eyes. "Yami? Yami! Yami come back!" Rya cried trying to run after him, never getting any closer. Pretty soon, he was out of sight completely. Rya fell to the ground with tears flowing down her cheeks. Her tears fell to the floor, each one being bigger than the last, creating a huge puddle beneath her. After a while, the puddle of tears grew larger and larger, almost like an ocean. The water grew deeper, and wilder as the waves consumed Rya and pulled her under. She felt she couldn't breathe, and did the only thing that came to mind. She cried out his name, "YAMI!" and sank farther and farther into the deep ocean of her tears.

Rya woke up with a start, finding herself back in her room at the mansion. She remembered her dream and shivered, until she realized that the duel was not a dream. _I lost. I can't believe I lost. Now I'll never see Yami again! _Just like in her dream, tears poured down her face. She clutched her knees to her chest and cried into them. A soft knock landed on her door, and revealed a sad looking Yugi.

"Hi Rya. We were wondering when you were going to wake up," he said softly as he walked in. He hated to see her cry like this, but he knew she had a very good reason to. "It's been about a day since we brought you back here. Yami asked me to stay here with you to give him an update on how you were. He's been calling about every five minutes asking how you're doing," Yugi chuckled lightly hoping to lighten the mood. It didn't work since Rya simply looked back down at her knees. Yugi walked up to the bed and sat beside her. "I'm really sorry, Rya." Rya instantly started crying again as Yugi gently hugged her, allowing her to cry into his shoulder.

"It's not fair Yugi. I love him and now...now I'll never see him again." she cried.

"Rya I'm sure there's something we could do. Maybe we can convince Lisa to change her mind." Yugi reassured her. They both knew that would never happen, though it was a nice thought. "Did you want to call Yami and speak to him yourself?" Yugi asked. Rya pulled back slowly and limped over to the window. It was raining heavily, making everything seem worse.

"I gave my word that if I lost the duel, I would never see nor speak to Yami again. Yami gave his word as well, and I don't want him to break it. I know he has his honor, and I don't want him to taint it because of me. Next time you speak to him, please tell him I'm sorry I disappointed him." Rya said softly, and slowly walked into the connected bathroom and shut the door. Yugi bowed his head and let out a sigh.

_You didn't disappoint him, Rya. _He thought and went back downstairs.

A/N: Awww, poor Rya. You guys have no idea how surprised I was with the number of reviews from the last chapter. I'm glad that a lot of you are still with me on this story. Now a lot of you brought up the good point about Kaiba still being in the duel, but that will all be explained in the next chapter. Hopefully that will be up soon. Until then, thank you all soooooo much. :)


	25. Never Thought of That

Chapter 25: Never Thought of That

_You didn't disappoint him, Rya. _Yugi thought and went back downstairs to find Joey, Mokuba and Kaiba all in the kitchen. Joey was eating his fourth meal while Mokuba watched in slight disgust, as Kaiba continued mumbling about how stupid Joey was. They all looked up to see Yugi walk in with his head down.

"How she doin' Yug?" Joey asked after swallowing his fourth sandwich whole.

"Well she finally woke up. But she's really upset. She feels like she let Yami down," Yugi replied sitting at the counter.

"Poor Rya. It's not fair that other girl won! Can't we do something about this Seto?" Mokuba asked him.

"As far as I'm concerned, I have nothing more to do with this entire incident." Kaiba replied gruffly.

"What! Are you kidding me Kaiba? You know you could've helped her out more in that duel and maybe none of this would've happened! I can't believe you won't even help her out!" Joey yelled.

"Shutup Chihuahua. What I meant was, there's nothing more for me to do. It's up to Rya now," he said.

"What do you mean Kaiba?" Yugi asked since Joey was mumbling how he wasn't a Chihuahua.

"Exactly what I just said. It's up to her to fix this mess, not us." Kaiba replied. Yugi and the others still looked confused. Kaiba heaved a tired sigh and explained, "Last I checked, the duel never officially ended, did it?" Yugi and Mokuba's eyes widened, while Joey still didn't get it. "From what you told me Yugi, their arrangement was that if Rya won, that slut could never bother Yami again. If what's-her-face won, not only did she get a date, but Rya could never see Yami again, correct?" Yugi nodded yes and waited for him to continue. "Well according to the rules, as long as at least one of the tag-team members is standing, the duel is on. But Lisa dragged Yami off before the duel could officially be over. So technically, even though Rya didn't win, Lisa didn't win either." Yugi's frown turned into a smile, and was actually close to hugging Kaiba.

"Kaiba you're a genius!" Yugi exclaimed as Mokuba was actually the one to hug his brother.

"Hn. It's just common sense," Kaiba told them, but rubbed the top of Mokuba's head.

"I'm going to go tell her! Rya will be so happy!" Yugi cheered and was already running up the stairs. He knocked on the door hurriedly to hear no answer. "Rya! I've got some wonderful news!" he said happily. A long silence followed after. "Rya? May I come in?" he asked a little softer. Pretty soon, the silence was getting to him. He slowly opened the door, and looked to find no one there. No one was in the bathroom either. Yugi felt a cool breeze blowing in, and gasped to see the wide open balcony doors. "Rya!" he cried out and ran to find her no where in sight. _Oh no! She's gone!_ Yugi ran down the stairs with a look of pure fear on his face. "Rya's gone!" he yelled.

"What do you mean 'gone'?" Joey asked getting worried.

"She must've gone off the balcony and climbed down the wall!" Yugi exclaimed.

Kaiba got on the phone and told his security to search the premises for Rya. "They should find her soon enough. No need to get excited," he told the others.

Yugi just rolled his eyes and pulled out his cell phone. He knew someone who would want to know about the current situation. Yugi listened to it ring and ring, getting impatient at the wait for an answer.

"Hello?" a solemn voice answered.

"Yami? It's Yugi. I'm calling you about Rya," Yugi told him carefully.

"What! What happened? Is she all right?" Yami asked quickly. Yugi went on to tell Yami everything that happened since Rya woke up, including the technicality about the match. "So she went off the balcony? Yugi we have to find her! I'm going to look for her! Call me if you find anything!" Yami hung and ran out of the house to find that it was raining heavily. _This is just like the day of that horrible storm and I was on my way to meet...Rya. Oh no, she wouldn't! _Yami ran to the only place he could think of to find the woman he loved. _Please Rya! Hold on!_

Meanwhile Rya was already where she wanted to be. She was on the ledge where she first saw Yami fall off and saved his life. She remembered that day clearly, being the day she met the man she loved. All the times they laughed and smiled and talked together. But now, they would never be able to do that again. Rya looked out over the water, which looked angry and wild from the storm. The rain poured heavily on her, soaking right through her clothes onto her skin. She realized that now, there wouldn't be any times for them to laugh, smile or talk together again. _I don't deserve Yami. I failed him, and caused him so much trouble. At least this way, he can be happy the way he wants to be._ She thought sadly as she allowed one last tear to fall. She lifted her foot to take one final step.

"Rya!" a voice shouted. Rya stopped in mid-step and turned to see Yami running along the beach below her. "Rya stop! Please don't do this!" Yami begged her.

"Yami? Yami what are you doing here! You'll get sick if you stay out here!" Rya yelled to him.

"Rya I beg of you! Please come down! Don't end your life this way!" Yami pleaded and held his arms open for her. "Please come down here with me!" Rya could see even from where she was the distressed look in his eyes. She was the one causing that distress, something she did not want to do.

"Yami..." she said quietly, being drowned out by the wind and rain. Suddenly, she felt the ground beneath her breaking. Rya looked down to see the ledge cracking under her feet.

"RYA!" Yami cried and ran closer to the ledge. Rya didn't even have a chance to call back to him before she fell down into the untamed water. Yami took no more than a second to run into the water and find her. He saw a hand sinking through the surface. "I'm coming, Rya! Hold on!" he yelled swimming to her. Her hand disappeared into the water just as Yami tried to reach her. Yami took a deep breath and went under to see Rya sinking deeper, away from him. Yami swam further and grabbed her wrist. Yami pulled her to his body and swam them both to the surface. Yami did his best to fight against the waves, seeing how close they were to the shore. _I have to get her to shore! I don't care if I survive or not, but please get her to shore! _He begged in his mind. A sudden glow surrounded them both, when Yami looked to see that they were back on the shore. He looked down to see a knocked out Rya in his arms. A small line of blood was running from a wound on her forehead. He held her tight to him, allowing tears to fall onto her face. "Rya..." he cried. Yami lifted her into his arms and tried getting her back to the mansion as fast as he could.

A/N: Hey everybody. I know, it's been over a month since I last updated. Hopefully that won't be the case for the next update. If anyone has any questions or suggestions, please feel free to let me know. Love you all! And RIP Eddie Guerrero. :)


	26. Trouble Always Finds You

Chapter 26: Trouble Always Finds You

Rya woke up, her head throbbing. _Where am I? Last thing I remember, I was on that ledge and...Yami came after me. Yami!_ Rya jumped up in the bed she was now apparently in, only to wince and hold her head. She felt something strange on her forehead, and wondered what it was and how it got there. She slowly slipped out from under the blankets and walked wobbly over to the dresser to look in the mirror. She found that the strange feeling on her head was a bandage. Rya pulled it off to find a large gash, making her feel more dizzy. She started falling to the ground, when she felt two strong arms wrap around her to keep her from going down any further. Rya looked up to see Yami looking back down at her. "Y–Yami?" she gasped. Yami didn't say a word as he lifted her into his arms and carried her back over to the bed. After he laid her down, he just continued looking at her. Not happy, or sad, just upset. "Yami I–"

"You should probably eat something," he said bluntly, and left before she could say anything else. This was enough to bring tears to her eyes.

_Why is he so cold to me? Perhaps he's finally realized how much of a burden I am to him. The only way I could've gotten back here was because of him._ Rya thought as tears flowed down her face. She put her weak legs onto the floor and went into the bathroom. She collapsed onto the tile as soon as she stepped foot into the bathroom. She curled up tightly against the wall, bringing her knees to her chest as she cried into them. _I'm sorry, Yami. I'm so sorry,_ she cried in her mind, only to hear Yami enter her room that moment, calling her name.

"Rya! Rya where are you?" he called out worriedly. Rya simply kept quiet, hoping he would leave to look for her somewhere else. However she heard his footsteps come closer, and heard his soles connect with the tile floor. "Rya," he called out softly, noting her sad and scared eyes looking back at him.

"Don't look at me!" she cried turning away from him and hugging herself. Yami saw her body shaking from the sobs escaping her lips.

"Rya," Yami said even softer as he slowly approached her. Rya didn't hear him kneel behind her. She only realized his presence when she felt him try to take her into his arms.

"No! I let you down! I don't deserve to be held by you!" she said as she weakly fought back. Yami would hear none of it and pulled her into his lap, while placing her head against his chest. "Yami..." she tried to say again, only to have Yami cut her off.

"Please Rya," he said surprisingly quiet. Rya looked into his eyes, to see him on the brink of tears himself. "Let me just hold you for a while." Rya felt his arms envelope her even tighter, as something wet fell onto her cheek. Yami's chest was shaking, as she heard quiet sobs escaping from Yami's lips. "I was so scared when I saw you on that ledge, I was scared of what you were trying to do. I won't let go of you until I know you won't do that ever again," he told her.

"But what about your promise to–" Rya started with tears still streaming from her eyes.

"To hell with that promise!" Yami exclaimed. Rya was a bit surprised by his slight outburst. "The only promise I intend to keep was the one to protect you from being hurt."

"Yami, I lost the match. I broke my promise to you to win. I don't deserve you to keep yours," she said quietly.

"Rya, you didn't lose the match," he told her. Before she could say anything, Yami went to explain the rules and how technically she never really lost. Rya's eyes were wide in surprise and happiness.

"You mean that...I can still see you?" Rya asked.

Yami smiled back and placed a few strands of her hair behind her ear. "Yes, and I can still be with you," he replied. Yami's hand traveled down to her chin, as he brought her face closer to his.

"Rya! Yami!" Joey called from the hallway. They both pulled apart, still with small smiles on their faces. Yami stood up, lifting Rya into his arms as he walked out of the bathroom and placed her back onto the bed.

"We're in here Joey!" Yami called out to Joey who had run past their door. Joey came back panting in the doorway, with a not-so-happy look on his face. "What is it?" Yami asked.

"Well...someone's here to see you," Joey said nervously.

"Who?" Rya asked.

"Well...you both know her and...you don't like her very much..." Joey replied. Both Yami and Rya's eyes widened. "Yeah, she brought and lawyer and stuff so Kaiba had to let her in. She's demanding that both of you guys come down, including you, Rya."

Rya nodded and started getting out of the bed, when Yami put a hand on her shoulder. "Tell Lisa that Rya isn't well enough to attend, I'll come down."

"No Yami, I need to speak to her myself," Rya said and stood weakly. Yami kept an arm around her waist to have him support her as she walked down the hallway. Both Yami and Joey helped her down the steps. They walked into the dining room to see Kaiba, Mokuba, Yugi, Lisa and who seemed to be her lawyer all sitting at the table. Lisa sent an evil glare to Rya as soon as set foot in the room.

Rya sat down in the chair right across from her, glaring right back. Yami sat beside her, wondering what this whole thing was about.

The lawyer stood up, readjusting his tie and looking around the room. "Well, now that all of the parties are here, we can begin. Ms. Lisa has brought to my attention the breaking of a verbal contract made between her, and Ms. Rya. Now I decided to wait until I had gotten all of you in one place to discuss the matter. As far as I know, both women agreed to duel and if Ms. Lisa had won, Mr. Yami was to accompany Ms. Lisa on a date, and never see nor speak to Ms. Rya again. Is that correct?" Everyone agreed to his statement. "Good. And if Ms. Rya had won, Ms. Lisa could also never speak to nor see Mr. Yami again, correct?" again, everyone agreed. "All right then. Now it is also my understanding that there is somewhat a bit of confusion among the parties as to who actually won and if any part of that verbal contract had been broken. Ms. Lisa, would you care to share your side?"

"Of course. First off, I'd just like to say how much stress this has all put on me. All I ask is that everyone be mature and carry out their part of an agreement. Now then, the way someone wins a Duel Monsters match is when the opponent's life points reach zero. And Ms. Rya's life points reached zero before mine did, therefore, she is the loser and should not be able to see or speak to Yami," Lisa stated in a sweet voice that almost made them all vomit.

"I see. Ms. Rya, is this true?" the lawyer asked her.

"It's true that between Ms. Lisa and I, my life points reached zero first. However, our match was tag team match. Mr. Kaiba could fill you in better on that subject," Rya said sincerely.

"Mr. Kaiba?" the lawyer asked putting his attention on him.

"Ms. Lisa here declared the match a tag team match, where it would be two-on-two. I was Ms. Rya's partner while Yami was Lisa's. Once Ms. Rya had lost her life points, both Lisa and Yami had left their platforms and away from the match. According to the rules, if one member of the team still has life points, the duel is to continue. I was still able to duel, but both Yami and Lisa had left before it had actually ended. Therefore, if anyone had actually won, it was Ms. Rya," Kaiba told him.

"I see. Well, then I suppose there really is no winner or loser, so no one is breaking the verbal contract agreed upon earlier," the lawyer concluded and stood up to leave.

"No!" Lisa screamed as she pounded her fists against the table. "I will not have Yami taken away from me! That tramp doesn't deserve him!"

Rya stood up quicker than anyone anticipated. "Lisa, I've had enough of your screaming, your yelling, and your pathetic insults," Rya started in an eerily calm voice. "So I suggest we settle this once and for all tomorrow at 3 pm in the arena. It'll be one-on-one, you and me, the stakes still stand." Everyone in the room gasped, except for Lisa, who simply smirked.

"Sure. Looks like I'll have to teach you a lesson again about messing with me. This time, there won't be anyone to help you," Lisa said darkly.

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing to you," Rya said just as deeply. Lisa simply scoffed and walked with her lawyer outside of the mansion.

A/N: Yeah I know, who cares about all that legal stuff? It was the only thing I could think of for both Lisa and Rya to see each other and make the challenge. You have to admit, I made that lawyer sound official, lol. Anyways, I'm sorry it's been so long since the last update. With college, the holidays, and all that good stuff it's been pretty crazy. But let's out a little fun into this: In your reviews, I wanna know what your favorite part of the holidays was. Favorite present from x-mas, spending time with the family, etc. Thank you all for reviewing. I'm sure one specific reviewer is happy I updated. I told you I'd update today! lol. :)


	27. Something to Lose

Chapter 27: Something To Lose

As soon as they were out of sight, Rya started to collapse. Yami caught her and lifted her into his arms. "Come on, Rya. You still need to rest if you want to beat her tomorrow," he said confidently with a smile on his face. Rya smiled back, knowing he believed in her. When he started walking back up the stairs, Rya stopped him.

"Do you think instead we could go down to the tank I was in before?" she asked. Yami looked down at her confused, but carried her down there nonetheless. Everyone else decided to let them be alone. Yami set her down along the edge as she put her feet into the water. "It feels nice to be near the water again," she sighed. Before Yami knew it, Rya had actually dove in and was swimming around.

"Rya!" Yami called out. Rya popped up with a smile on her face.

"Human or mermaid, the water brings out the strength in me," she stated. Yami calmed down and smiled as he watched her gracefully swim in the water. Rya thought of a wicked idea and swam up to Yami. "Help me out?" she asked while extending her hand to him with a sweet smile on her face. Yami knelt down grasping her hand, and felt her pull him in. He broke through the surface to hear Rya laughing. He smirked at her and started going after her, as she screamed in delight and tried to get away from him. Eventually, Yami caught her hand and brought her to his chest. Rya looked up into his eyes, panting from the intense swimming she had to do to keep away from him. Yami tucked some of her wet locks behind her ear, causing her to blush. "Do you really think I'll be able to beat her tomorrow Yami?" she asked him, the doubt clear in her voice.

Yami held her bridal style in the shallow part of the tank and kept her close. "There is no doubt in my mind, Rya." he replied. Rya smiled and laid her head in the crook of his neck while Yami softly pet her hair as they stood in the calm water for what seemed like forever. Yami walked them over to the edge and sat Rya down onto it. He sat next to her with both their legs in the water. Yami looked over at her, and saw her staring intently at the water. "You miss it, don't you?" Yami asked her.

Rya looked up in surprise, just remembering that he was sitting next to her. "Yes, sometimes." she replied quietly and went back to looking at it. Before Yami could go on about the subject, Rya stood up and offered him a hand. "Let's go get something to eat," she suggested with a smile. Yami smiled back as he gave her his hand and walked with her to the kitchen.

Later that night, Yami laid awake in his bed thinking of what was to occur the next day. _I know Rya could win but I don't want to risk losing her again, or having her get hurt. But this is her decision, and only she can make it work. I just wish there was more I could do to help her._ Yami couldn't take any more, as he threw back the sheets, throwing on some pajama pants over his boxers and heading down the hallway to Rya's room. He knocked lightly on the door, "Rya?" but no one answered him. He knocked louder, but still no answer. He opened the door to find her bed empty, with no signs of anyone even touching it. Yami went downstairs and looked in the kitchen, the dining room, until he heard something downstairs in the basement. He heard splashing, and knew exactly who it was. He smiled softly as he walked down the steps to see Rya jumping in and out of the water, as if she had gotten her fin back. Yami stayed quiet and watched awhile as she seemed oblivious to his presence. Rya started to sing a song he recognized from the radio the day they took Rya to the mall.

_You're gonna fly,_

_With every dream you chase._

_You're gonna cry,_

_But know that that's okay._

_Sometimes life's unfair,_

_But if you just hang in there._

_You're gonna see,_

_That sometimes bad is good._

_We just have to believe,_

_Things work out like they should._

_Life has no guarantees,_

_But always loved by me, _

_You're gonna be._

Yami couldn't help but feel hypnotized by her voice; so soft, with such a sweet melody in it. Rya was dancing in the water, spinning, twirling as her wet hair released the water it held, making it sparkle all around her. Yami was no less than entranced with her at that moment. He walked to the tank as she repeated the verses over and over again, with no complaints from Yami. He slipped quietly into the water, uncaring of his now wet pajamas. He crept quietly up to the dancing mermaid before him. Rya had her eyes closed, too engrossed in her dancing and singing to notice Yami right behind her. She raised her arms in the air above her head, only to feel to more hands take hers from behind. Rya didn't scream, or cry out, merely gasped. The feel of those hands were all too familiar, so she simply smiled.

"Did I wake you?" she asked without even looking at him. Yami simply let both their hands down, while he continued holding hers.

"I couldn't sleep and got up to see you, when I came down and found you here." Yami explained, with his chest against her back. Rya nodded in understanding, when she felt Yami swaying slowly back and forth. "Could you sing for me?" he asked her softly in her ear.

Rya started blushing, but started singing the same verses from before. After the first verse, Yami turned Rya in his arms to face him. He wrapped one arm around her waist, and held her other hand in the air. Rya smiled and laid her head on his shoulder, as they slowly danced in the water.

_You're gonna fly,_

_With every dream you chase._

_You're gonna cry,_

_But know that it's okay._

_Sometimes life's unfair,_

_But if you just hang in there._

_You're gonna see,_

_Sometimes bad is good._

_We just have to believe,_

_Things turn out like they should._

_Life has no guarantees,_

_But always loved by me, _

_You're gonna be._

"Sing that second verse again," Yami asked with his cheek resting on her head. Rya sang it again, when she realized why he had asked her to.

"Life has no guarantees, but always loved by me, you're gonna be" she sang quietly. In the middle, Yami had stopped dancing and had Rya look up at him. The water shimmered in her eyes, making her more breathtaking. Yami cupped her cheek in his hand as she sang softly, "but always loved by me, you're gonna be." The last part barely escaped her lips, as Yami brought his closer to hers. Rya closed her eyes, and felt the warmth of his gentle lips on hers. Rya wrapped her arms around his neck as the kiss deepened. Yami entangled his hands in her long hair as he brought her as close as humanly possible to him. Both pulled back to breathe, and slowly kissed again. After a while, Rya simply laid her head in the crook of Yami's neck, kissing it softly.

"You should go to sleep. You need your rest for tomorrow," he suggested kissing her forehead. Rya nodded in agreement as Yami lifted her into his arms and carried her back to her room. He set her down in her bed and started backing away, when Rya took hold of his hand, with a pleading look in her eyes. Yami slipped in beside her, wrapping his arms around her slender form, as she laid her head on his chest. The duel to take place tomorrow was nowhere near their minds that night, since they were both where they wanted to be.

_This is what I'm fighting for tomorrow. _Rya thought contentedly to herself as she fell asleep being held by the man she loved.

A/N: Hehe, I hope this chapter was worth waiting for. The song was "You're Gonna Be" by Reba McEntire. If you're a country fan like I am and haven't heard it, you must. Hope you enjoyed this chapter:)


	28. Promise of a Sunrise

Chapter 28: Promise of a Sunrise

Rya was sleeping soundly when she felt someone gently shaking her. "Rya..." Yami whispered. Rya slowly opened her weary eyes up into Yami's smiling ones. "Wake up," he said cupping her cheek in his hand.

Rya slowly sat up and looked outside to see that the sun hadn't even risen yet. "Yami, it's still dark out," she stated.

"I know. I want to show you something," he replied. "Hurry and get dressed or we'll miss it." Rya nodded, only to start falling back onto the bed and going to sleep. "Come on," Yami chuckled helping her up and walking her to the dresser. Once she was dressed, Yami took her by the hand and made her run out of the mansion. The street lights were still on, but Rya could see them start turning off. She and Yami were running hand in hand in the streets early in the morning. For what reason? Rya had no idea. But she continued to run with him, until they went off the streets onto soft ground. Rya knew it felt familiar but she couldn't place it, and then felt them go onto some rocks. It was so dark out, Rya had no idea what was going on and held onto Yami. "I need you to close your eyes," Yami told her.

"What? Why?" Rya asked curiously. Yami simply gave her a look that made her nod and do as he asked. She felt him cover her eyes with his hands, just in case. "Yami what is going on?" she giggled anxiously.

"You'll see. Right about...now" Yami replied removing his hands. Rya rubbed her eyes and looked, only to gasp in absolute surprise. They were standing on the ledge that looked over the entire ocean, and the sun was rising just beyond the shimmering water. The sky was beautiful, reflected in the water. Rya couldn't speak at the gorgeous sight before her. "I thought you might like this. I know this is probably your first sunrise above the water," Yami said from behind her.

"Yami I...I don't know what to say," Rya said with tears already brimming her eyes. She turned to see the smile on Yami's face. She ran and launched herself into his arms as he spun her around.

"I'm glad you like it," he replied. Rya turned to continue admiring it, as Yami wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. After a while, Yami finally gathered the courage to ask Rya the question he'd been wanting to for a while. "Rya?"

"Yes Yami?" she replied continuing to look on over the golden water. She heard Yami give a sigh, as if he was afraid to ask. "What is it?" she asked looking up at him.

"After you win your duel today, which I know you will," Yami chuckled lightly. Rya smiled back, wondering what he was going to ask. "You...I mean that...what will you do?" he asked quietly.

"I'm afraid I don't understand Yami," Rya said.

"Rya, you're not a human. You're a mermaid, the ocean is your home. Will you...will you go back there?" Yami asked with a hint of fear in his voice.

Rya was for the second time that morning speechless. "In all honesty Yami, I haven't really thought about it. All that's been on my mind lately is beating Lisa and making it so you never have to be bothered by her again."

"I see." Yami replied, releasing her from his hold. "Well it was a silly question to ask anyways. We should be heading back," he said turning, taking his leave.

"But Yami I–" Rya started running after him.

"You should probably sleep a little more before the match. You'll need all the strength you can get," Yami said cutting her off and still walking away. Rya looked back at the sun that had fully risen.

_I promise Yami, I will win today for you. I promise one way or another, I will win happiness for you,_ she thought with determination and turned to catch up with him.

They both stayed quiet on the walk back to the mansion, seeing all the shops starting to open. One shop that caught Rya's eye was the "jewelry shop" that was opening. She looked inside the window to see some of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. One specific item caught her attention, but deciding she would investigate later when Yami wasn't there.

Once they got back to the mansion, they found Kaiba and Mokuba already up eating breakfast. "Hi Yami! Hi Rya! We didn't know you were up already. You want some breakfast?" Mokuba offered happily.

"Thank you Mokuba, we'd love to," Rya replied and sat next to him to start eating as Yami sat beside Kaiba. Rya and Mokuba were talking as Yami watched Rya sadly, thinking maybe she really would go back to the ocean. Pretty soon, Mokuba had asked Rya to play with him for a little while leaving Yami and Kaiba alone.

"Stop worrying so much," Kaiba said while reading his paper. Yami looked at him, wondering what he was talking about. "She'll beat that sorry excuse of a girl, she'll win, you two will kiss and you'll both live happily ever after."

"Kaiba–" Yami sighed holding his forehead.

"Think about it. She's willing to fight for you, make you happy. Do you honestly think she'll leave you after all this? You're more dense than I thought," he smirked grabbing some coffee and leaving the room. He stopped at the doorway and turned to face him, smirk still present, "if you're that worried, give her a reason to stay." With that, Kaiba left Yami to his thoughts.

Yami sighed again and started thinking about what Kaiba had said. _I don't want to lose her, but I don't want her to do anything that'll make her unhappy. _Yami continued thinking for a moment. _Give her a reason to stay, huh? We'll see._ Yami stood up and went to go find Rya. He looked all around mansion, with Rya nowhere to be found. In fact, Mokuba was gone too. _I wonder where they went._

Meanwhile, Mokuba and Rya were in the limo heading down to the jewelry store Rya had spotted earlier that morning. "Thank you for helping me out, Mokuba!" Rya smiled.

"No problem! Besides I think it's an awesome idea!" Mokuba replied. The limo stopped as they walked in to the store. They had everything from the finest diamonds to $10 necklaces. Mokuba and Rya looked around for the certain item Rya had spotted earlier, when Mokuba felt he had found it. Rya looked at it, and thought it was perfect. They took it up to the counter and asked for it to be inscribed.

"All right, that'll be $87.99," the lady said kindly. Both Rya and Mokuba looked at each other, knowing that neither of them had any money. Rya thought for a moment and came up with a way to pay for it.

_For Yami,_ she thought to herself. _He gave me the sunrise, now I can give him something in return. _

A/N: I am sooooooooooo sorry! I know it's been so long since I've last updated. I'm really sorry and I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me! Please review:)


	29. Rya vs Lisa

Chapter 29: Rya vs. Lisa

Rya and Mokuba got back from the store hiding the gift behind their backs. Mokuba took the bag and hid it in his room. Rya ran around looking for Yami, finding him in his room looking out the window. It was 1 o'clock, and Rya knew that if anyone could help her practice, it was him. "Yami?" she called out softly. Yami turned with a small smile on his face. She stood timidly in the doorway, rubbing her arm nervously. "Do you think you and I could practice for a little while?" she asked.

Yami smiled even more, "Of course. Let me get my cards." Rya smiled and ran to her room to get hers. Everyone walked with them to watch them practice. It was simply going over strategies, reading and calling bluffs, what monsters to use and when. Basically everything Rya had done with Joey, Kaiba and Yugi. Rya had definitely improved, and it was now 2:30. They had decided to have the duel here in Kaiba's arena, so they all stood around, waiting for Lisa to show up. Everyone turned to see the most hated girl make her entrance through the doorway. She smirked at Rya and made her way to her platform without even a word. Rya then went to her own platform, but not without Yami gently grasping her wrist. Rya turned to see the smile on his face, making her feel more confident. She stepped up to him and gave a him a sweet kiss on his lips and stood on the platform. _You can do it Rya, I believe in you._ Yami thought and watched as she was raised up to duel the most important duel of her life.

"So, you ready to lose?" Lisa laughed, placing her deck on the board as Rya did the same.

"Well I can see that you're still wearing clothes far too small for you, so no, I guess not," Rya smirked. Lisa instantly glared at her darkly, thinking of how glorious it would be to just beat her and win back Yami.

"Then let's cut the small talk and get right to it, shall we?" Lisa said as Rya nodded in agreement.

"LET'S DUEL!" they both shouted and drew their cards.

_This is it,_ Rya and Yami both thought at the same time.

About twenty minutes had passed, and both women were playing as fierce as they could. Rya in the lead with 2100 Life points, had two magic/trap cards face down, with a monster face-down in defense mode. Lisa was behind at 1850 Life Points, with one magic/trap card face-down, and a Doma Angel of Silence (1600/1400) in attack mode.

_If I don't think of a way to turn this around, this little slut may actually beat me. I can't let that happen!_ Lisa hissed in her mind.

_I can tell she's getting frustrated. Hopefully that means she will get sloppy when making her moves._ Rya thought as she drew her next card. "I place one card on the field; Neo the Magic Swordsman (1700/1000) in attack mode! And that will end my turn."

"Fine then. Before you can get the bright idea of using that card to attack my Doma, I'll use my Doma to attack your face-down card! Go!" Lisa exclaimed as the card did as she asked.

"I was hoping you would do that. I reveal Princess of Tsurugi!(900/700)" Rya stated as her card was destroyed. "This card inflicts 500 points worth of damage directly to your Life Points for every Spell/Trap card you have." she told a very aggravated Lisa. "And since my card was in Defense Mode, I don't receive any damage."

"Damn you!" Lisa screamed as her Life Points went down to 1350. _Damn it! She's getting to me. I guess I should fight fire with fire_,she smirked. "You may have won this round, but you'll mess up eventually. And when that happens I'll have the perfect attack ready for you. As soon as your Life Points reach 0, everything you worked so hard for, will go straight to hell. I'll have Yami for my own, and you'll be left out in the cold. Yami's only using you to battle me, since he would never fight a girl himself."

"That's not true!" Rya yelled.

"Oh really? Don't forget Rya, I used to go out with him. I know how he thinks, and how he duels. I remember one time I wanted to duel him and refused to, simply because he didn't want to hurt me in any way. So he got someone else to do it. You just seemed to be in the perfect position to do it this time." Lisa continued.

"Shutup! You know nothing about him! He's kind and caring! Nothing you could ever appreciate!" Rya shouted.

"Let me take a wild guess. He told you he cared about you, right? Trust someone who has been there, he tells you he cares and the next thing you know you're fighting his battles for him. Back out while you still have some dignity," Lisa said, still smirking.

"I will never back down! I'll make it so you never hurt Yami again!" Rya said as she sent her Neo against her Doma.

"Silly girl. I use Waboku! Making it so the damage from your attack goes down to 0 and I'm perfectly safe. Too bad you wasted a perfectly good shot to get rid of me," Lisa taunted. Rya was speechless, knowing that Lisa was simply playing with her head. "So tell me, did Yami actually tell you he cared for you? And before that he would take you out like, to the mall maybe?" Rya's eyes widened at her statement.

"That's enough Lisa!" Yami demanded.

"What? I'm just talking. The first time you took me out was to the mall, wasn't it?" Lisa asked with a sick, innocent voice. Yami bowed his head, knowing she was telling the truth. "Like I said, I know how he thinks."

Rya had her head down, tears ready to fall. "Just take your turn." she said so eerily, everyone gasped at her, even Lisa.

"Okay. Now then, I place Battle Ox (1700/1000) on the field in attack mode, and two Spell/Trap cards face-down. That will end my turn," Lisa said calmly. Rya looked down at her cards to see what she could do to match her strategy.

Without much thought, since Lisa's words were playing in her head, she pulled out a card. "I play Rush Recklessly! This Magic card allows me to add 700 points to any monster I choose, and I choose Neo the Magic Swordsman (2400/1000)! Now attack her Battle Ox!" Rya ordered. Lisa didn't seem intimidated at all. Her Battle Ox was demolished, as her Life Points went down to 650. Rya seemed happy, until she saw the smirk on Lisa's face.

"Nice work. Too bad it was for nothing. For now I play Dian Keto, which gives me back 1000 Life Points," she said as her LP went to 1650. "Looks like you and your Rush Recklessly get along very nicely."

Rya could smack herself in the forehead for being to rash. _Darn! I'm not thinking clearly! She's getting the better of me, and I can't let her do that!_ Rya looked down at the worried face of Yami. _I'm doing this for him. I can't let him down, no matter what this witch says. I promised I would win this. But...can I?_


	30. It Comes Down to This

Chapter 30: It Comes Down to This

Rya could smack herself in the forehead for being to rash. _Darn! I'm not thinking clearly! She's getting the better of me, and I can't let her do that! Rya looked down at the worried face of Yami. I'm doing this for him. I can't let him down, no matter what this witch says. I promised I would win this. But...can I?_

"Now that it's my turn, I'll discard Giant Soldier of Stone (1300/2000) from my hand in order to play Tribute to the Doomed. This card allows me to destroy one of your monsters after I discard one of mine. I choose to get rid of your Magic Swordsman." Rya's monster disappeared, leaving her defenseless at the moment. "While you have no monsters on the field, I will play Feral Imp (1300/1400) and use him to attack your Life Points directly!"

Rya braced herself for the harsh impact of her LP being attacked. The blow knocked her back against the railing of the platform. "Rya!" Yami cried. "Are you all right?" Rya simply stood up again and nodded, not looking in his direction. _Rya, hold on. I know you can do this!_ Yami thought to himself. Rya's Life Points went all the way down to 800.

"Things aren't looking too good for you, are they?" Lisa mocked as Rya simply glared at her. "To end my turn I will also summon Metal Armored Bug (2800/1500) in attack mode."

Rya drew a card and thought there was some hope after all. "First I reveal Just Desserts! This trap card automatically inflicts 500 point damage to your Life Points for each monster on your side of the field. Since there are two, you lose 1000 LP." Lisa growled as her Life Points went down to 150. "Next I will play Dark Witch (1800/1700) in Defense mode, and a card face down in defense mode, along with placing three Spell/Trap cards face-down. That will end my turn."

"Oh goody," Lisa said sarcastically. "First I will play Change of Heart, and use your Dark Witch to finish you off and end this duel." They all gasped and watched as Dark Witch was about to face against Rya.

"I play Solar Ray! This card inflicts 600 damage to your LP for every LIGHT monster on my side of have on the field. And seeing as how my Dark Witch is a Light monster, you take the damage." Rya said with confidence, feeling she had won.

"Well before that takes affect, I play the Magic card Remove Trap, which negates your attack!" Lisa replies as the Dark Witch attacked the face-down card.

Once the card revealed itself, it turned out to be Neko Mane King. Lisa gasped, as she saw that Rya wouldn't take any damage, and her turn was finished before she could destroy Rya. _Now I have to up my mind game too,_ she thought.

Dark Witch returned to her true master as Neko Mane King was sent to the Graveyard. "Now it's my turn," Rya stated just before she could pick up her next few cards.

"Hold on, Rya," Lisa said. Rya's hand stopped as she turned towards her opponent. "Are you sure Yami is worth all of this? Like I said before, I know how he thinks. How do you know he's not just using you?" Rya simply glared and went for her cards again. "I mean after all, he does like friends who prove their loyalty to him." Rya stopped again with a brow raised. "What if I were to tell you that this had all been a test Yami made just to see how far you would go for him?"

"That's not true!" Yami yelled in anger.

"Of course he'd be getting angry, seeing as how it's the truth, and he doesn't want to be seen as the bad guy," Lisa said. Rya looked down at Yami to see the mad look on his face towards Lisa. "Do you want to know how I can prove it to you?" she asked. Rya waited as Lisa smirked, "Seen any sunrises lately?"

Rya's eyes widened as she dropped her cards onto the platform. "Wh-what did you say?" she gasped.

"I guess that's a yes. You see, you're not the only one Yami has seen a sunrise with. He wakes you up real early, then takes you to a high point on a hill or ledge, and watches it with you," Lisa described, as if she had been there herself. Rya was still too speechless to say anything. "He did that for me the second month we had been together. It was so romantic. I'm so glad you were able to have the exact same experience with him. Right Yami? Isn't it true that you did the same for me?" Lisa asked with her sickening smirk all over her face. Rya's face turned to Yami's, who was shocked.

Yami couldn't say a word, until he heard a meek little voice say, "Yami? Is it true?" Yami looked up at Rya, not needing to say anything. Rya knew it was true, as she collapsed to her knees, tears nearly falling down her cheeks.

"Rya!" Yami called out to her, wanting to run and hold her. "Rya I'm sorry! Yes it's true that I did that with Lisa also. But it was different with you! No one has ever made me feel so complete as you do! I never wanted you to duel Lisa for me, but your determination let me know that you could do it! I would never hurt you Rya, never!" Yami was hoping he would get a response of some kind. When he didn't he continued, "Rya, you mean more to me than anything else in this world! That's why I'm afraid that if you win you'll leave me!"

Those words definitely caught Rya's attention as she slowly looked down to see Yami...crying. "Yami?" she whispered softly.

"Rya I...I can't bear the thought of losing you! I...I love you Rya!" he shouted with all the feeling he had. Rya was surprised, and slowly stood, still looking down at Yami.

_Oh Yami. I couldn't bear to lose you either, I love you so much. Which is why I am fighting now, for you._ Rya thought to herself, and glared at Lisa. "You're going to lose, whether it kills me in the process. And all your little mind tricks end here!" Rya exclaimed as she drew her next card. She gasped as she saw what was held in her hand. _It...it can't be!_ She thought as she glanced down at Yami, who was now smiling at her. Rya allowed the tears to fall down her cheeks, as she held the card closely to her heart. _He really does care for me._ Rya looked back at Lisa with a new found determination. "Get ready to go down!"

"Oh really? I'd rather not seeing as how you're the one that's going to lose! So go ahead and get your turn over with so I can beat you and be done with it!" Lisa chuckled.

"You'll regret that. In fact, I'm going to make you regret everything you've ever done to me or Yami!" Rya exclaimed. "I play...Dark Magician!" Everyone gasped when they realized, it was actually Yami's Dark Magician (2500/2100). Even Lisa was a little bit nervous. "Now I play Reinforcements which increases his Attack points to 3000/2100, along with Book of Secret Arts to increase both attack and defense (3300/2400). Last but not least I'll add a very appropriate card to give a final touch; Yami! Which will increase him up to 3500/2600!" Lisa gasped at the increase she was able to do with so few cards. "Now attack her Metal Armored Bug!" Rya commanded.

"Hold on! I use De-Spell to take away your Book of Secret Arts!" Lisa yelled desperately, hoping it would do some good.

"Sorry, but I use my own De-Spell to counter yours!" Rya said happily as her Dark Magician attacked, and brought Lisa's LP down to 0. As Rya was commanding the Dark Magician, she felt as though Yami was with her, and holding her. Once she saw that large zero on Lisa's side of the field, Rya smiled greatly. _I did it. I DID IT!_ She cheered in her mind. Their platforms were lowered to the ground. Before Rya could even turn off the platform, two strong arms wrapped around her, and pulled her into a wonderful kiss. Rya wrapped her arms around Yami's neck and kissed him back. "I love you Yami!" she cried as tears flowed freely down her cheeks.

"I know Rya, I know," he said smiling greatly at her. They couldn't help but hear Lisa's objections as Kaiba's security men dragged her out of the mansion. Everyone else watched as the two lovers embraced. Yami wiped away Rya's tears as she smiled up at him and kissed him again.

A/N: I'm SOOOOO SOOOOORRRRRY! Not only did I take so long with the update, but I forgot to put an author's note in the last chapter. I have no idea if I broke any rules in Duel Monsters and stuff, so please bear with me. Thank you so much for the people who have stuck with me. The next chapter shall be the last one. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope you'll see the end of this story with me. Thank you :)


	31. As the Sun Rises

Chapter 31: As The Sun Rises

The gang had celebrated Rya's victory that night to the full extent. When the party was over, Yami and Rya had slept in each other's arms, not wanting to let go of the other.

Yami tossed and turned a little, opening his eyes to realize that Rya was no longer there. "Rya?" he called out, wiping his eyes. He looked at the clock to see that it was 5:30 in the morning, and the sun had yet to rise. "Rya, where are you?" he called out again as he got out of the bed and started looking around the room, with Rya nowhere to be found. Yami was getting confused and a little worried, when he felt a cool breeze. He turned to see the balcony doors open, when he was sure he had closed them. Yami walked out onto the balcony, just in time to see an interesting sight. Rya was just done climbing down the balcony. "Rya!" he said. Rya looked up with a smile and simply giggled. She ran off into the night, as Yami couldn't help but laugh also. "Where are you going?"

"Come and find out!" Rya laughed as she continued running. Yami quickly grabbed some shoes, a small box and headed down the balcony to follow her. After a while, Yami had lost sight of her, wondering where she could've gone. When he saw where he was, he could see the beach not too far away.

_So that's where she's headed,_ he smirked and ran towards the beach. His feet had reached the sand as he looked on the beach to find Rya. _Maybe she wasn't coming here, _he thought as he noticed that she wasn't there. However a voice seemed to start ringing in his head. _Great, now I'm hearing things from lack of sleep, _he thought. After a while, Yami realized that the voice was singing. It was beautiful. Yami looked up to see a young woman on the ledge where he had fallen the day he met Rya. She was the one singing, and the song sounded very familiar. Yami quickly ran to the ledge to see if it truly was Rya. As he got closer, he could hear the words much more clearly.

_You're gonna fly,_

_With every dream you chase._

_You're gonna cry,_

_But know that that's okay._

_Sometimes life's not fair,_

_But if you hang in there._

_You're gonna see,_

_That sometimes bad is good._

_We just have to believe,_

_Things work out like they should._

_Life has no guarantees, _

_But always loved by me,_

_You're gonna be._

Yami finally reached the top, gasping at the breathtaking sight before him. Rya was standing beneath the fading moonlight. Her voice was drifting on the wind into the water, where a few stars still shined. But it was her that truly surprised him. He didn't notice when he first saw her running away, she was wearing a beautiful white dress. It was strapless, with sparkles all over it, glistening with every move she would make. It flowed around her, like what a princess would wear. She slowly turned, still singing as she walked towards him.

Rya took his hands into hers and pulled him out there with her. She placed both his hands on her waist, and wrapped her own around his neck. Without speaking, they both danced, her eyes sparkling brighter than her dress. It seemed like forever that they danced, before Rya stopped.

"I want to give you something," she said as she reached into a hidden pocket of her dress and pulled out her little surprise. Yami was surprised to see two chains, both with a charm on them. As he took one, it read "Always Loved By Me" in beautiful letters. The other charm read "You're Gonna Be". "Do you like it?" she asked.

"Rya I...don't know what to say," Yami smiled as he placed one around his neck. He took the other one out of Rya's hand and put it around hers. "You know, there's something I bet would go wonderful with that necklace." he whispered as he pulled something out of his own pocket. As soon as he opened it, it was Rya's turn to be speechless.

"Yami! How did you–" Rya gasped.

"Let's just say, Mokuba can't keep a secret. Especially from Kaiba," he chuckled as he pulled out Rya's pendant. "Mokuba said how you gave it up to get this for me. But I didn't want to you give it up that way."

Rya was now crying tears of happiness, as she pressed the pendant to her heart. "I can't thank you enough Yami. But in all honesty, I don't feel I need it anymore." she said. Yami was a bit confused as Rya knelt beside him, placing the pendant on the ground. With a rock, she pounded it into a fine dust, and placed it in her hands. "You complete me enough to leave everything from the ocean, like my past, in the ocean, where it belongs." she smiled. Yami smiled in return, as she turned to face the sea, a cool breeze blowing from behind them. Rya released the dust, and watched it fly away on the wind, just as the sun started to rise. The dust glistened beautifully as it traveled into the sky.

Rya turned to face Yami as he wrapped his arms around her waist and smiled. "You're my treasure from the ocean, Rya. I love you."

"I love you too Yami. Thank you for finding me," she said. Their lips met sweetly, with the sun rising behind them. Both making a promise on this very sunrise, that they would never part, ever.

THE END

A/N: Well, there it is everyone! The end of "My Treasure From The Ocean". It's sad that I have to end it, but I must. This is the second story I've completed on this site, and it's still weird, lol. To all my reviewers and readers, thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking time to check out my story. It truly means a lot to me. With that my friends, I bid you farewell, until we meet again. :)


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